Jed York and the 49ers surprised the football world Sunday evening, announcing former All-Pro safety John Lynch as their next general manager.
In a month long search that saw nearly a dozen names floated around, Lynch, 45, seemingly came out of nowhere, with not a single report mentioning him as a candidate until news of his hiring broke. Peter King spoke with York shortly after the announcement on Sunday, and the 49ers CEO explained his thinking behind hiring a GM with no front office experience. York made it clear both he and Lynch are not afraid of failure.
“Nothing is guaranteed,” York said late Sunday night. (He also said, “I need some sleep.”) “But so many opportunities are missed in the NFL because people don’t want to do something different. We’re okay with that, because I am confident in Kyle and John. John has watched John Elway, and how he’s built a team in Denver. As easy as it is to say he hasn’t built a team yet—I get that—I talk to Kyle, and he says John is the most prepared of all the TV [people] he meets in the production meetings before games. We understand we’ll have to live with growing pains, but I’m willing to do that because I believe the upside with both of them is so great.”
“Neither of those guys are afraid of failure, and I’m not either”
King also went into detail on the steps that led to Lynch getting the job. Lynch called presumptive 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan last week, and expressed his interest in the position. The feeling was apparently mutual, and Lynch spent Thursday interviewing with York in the Bay Area, before flying back to Atlanta to interview for four more hours with York, before receiving a “debriefing” from Shanahan. York then interviewed the two other candidates, George Paton and Terry McDonough on Friday and Saturday respectively. After the interviews were completed, both York and Shanahan felt Lynch was the best fit.
The 49ers are expected to hold a press conference announcing the hirings of Shanahan and Lynch after the Super Bowl, sometime next week.