Jed York and the San Francisco 49ers stunned the world Sunday evening by naming John Lynch the next general manager of the franchise.
The 45-year-old Lynch was most recently a Fox broadcaster and has no front office experience. He was never listed as a candidate by the team during the four week interviewing process. The list of potential GMs at one time ballooned up to nine people, and was thought to have been dwindled down to just Minnesota’s George Paton and Arizona’s Terry McDonough — who both met with York and Kyle Shanahan this weekend in Atlanta.
Clearly, York wanted an outside-the-box name to change the direction of the 49ers. There will be a ton written about Lynch in the up coming days, but here are some fast facts to be aware of.
1. According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Lynch spent Thursday and Friday morning with 49ers officials, even spending Thursday night at York’s house. This was absolutely a stealth mission and meant to be kept a secret. Schefter also reports the idea to hire Lynch came from Lynch himself, who reached out to York. Lynch then spoke with Shanahan over the phone who warmed up to the idea.
2. He’s eligible to become a Hall of Famer this weekend at the Super Bowl. The nine-time Pro Bowl safety played 15 seasons in the NFL, spending most of his time with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, where he won a Super Bowl in 2002.
3. But he also played with the Denver Broncos from 2004-2007 under Mike Shanahan. That’s where the connection could’ve formed between Lynch and Kyle, the presumptive next coach of the 49ers. Lynch still has a home in Denver.
4. Lynch was a third-round pick out of Stanford in 1993, so there is a Bay Area connection here. He played both baseball and football for the Cardinal and was drafted by the Florida Marlins in the second round. He’s from San Diego originally.
5. Lynch was rewarded an unprecedented six-year contract by the 49ers, something unheard of for a first time GM. That shows you the state of disarray the 49ers are in and the job security Lynch demanded from York in order to take this job. Given how much money is on the books, it’s safe to say York won’t have a quick trigger finger with this regime.
6. The last time a Bay Area sports team hired a former broadcaster to lead the franchise? Steve Kerr. Now, he had previous experience as the GM of the Phoenix Suns, but the hiring is similar: Both men are known as strong leaders and outstanding communicators. That’s exactly what the 49ers need in their front office.
7. Also from Schefter: Lynch was heavily rumored to join the Broncos front office before John Elway won that job back in 2011. The name Mark Dominik really makes sense now as the No. 2 man in charge of personnel. Dominik was with the Buccaneers from 1997-2013, and brought to the team six players who made the Pro Bowl roster this year.
We’ll have much more on this hiring soon.