Falcons offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan hasn’t officially accepted the 49ers head coaching position. That announcement will come after the Falcons play the Patriots in the Super Bowl on Sunday.
But Shanahan already put his stamp on the job by vouching for John Lynch to be San Francisco’s next general manager. This could be interesting. Lynch has no experience working in an NFL front office. Shanahan has never been a head coach. But 49ers owner Jed York decided that the unusual pairing can help rebuild his team.
Shanahan said Lynch contacted him following the Falcons’ victory over the Seahawks in an NFC divisional playoff game three weekends ago. Lynch was a Fox analyst for the game broadcast and it has been in that role that Shanahan said he’s gotten to know Lynch over the years.
“John is a guy I’ve built a relationship with over the years,” Shanahan said Monday during the NFL’s “Opening Night” Super Bowl media event. “He’s a guy who lives and dies football. Very smart guy who really wanted to get back into it so he can compete on Sunday and there is actually a win or (loss) at the end of the game. We had some talks together. He did a great job this weekend. … I’m excited about it.”
Shanahan said he met with York in Atlanta on Friday and Saturday for previously scheduled interviews. During that time, Shanahan also met with Lynch and two other candidates who are current NFL executives: Terry McDonough (Cardinals) and George Paton (Vikings).
Lynch played safety for 15 NFL seasons and is a candidate to be named to the Pro Football Hall of Fame on Saturday. Lynch played for Shanahan’s father when Mike Shanahan coached the Broncos.
“John is a guy I have a lot of respect for as man, as a person and also from his football knowledge,” Shanahan said.
York told SI.com’s Monday Morning Quarterback that he met with Lynch in the San Francisco Bay area on Thursday. After more talks over the weekend, York said he and Shanahan agreed that Lynch and Shanahan would make a good team.
“Nothing is guaranteed,” York told MMQB. “But so many opportunities are missed in the NFL because people don’t want to do something different. We’re OK 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.”
If Shanahan accepts the 49ers position, he could end up as part of a power-sharing arrangement similar to other NFL front offices, including the Falcons.
Franchise owner Arthur Blank hired coach Mike Smith and general manager Thomas Dimitroff in 2008 and those two led the franchise to unprecedented regular-season success. Blank fired Smith after two consecutive losing seasons, hired Quinn as head coach in 2015 and kept Dimitroff in his position while decreasing his responsibilities and giving Quinn final say over the roster.
After lackluster results during Shanahan’s first season running the offense, the Falcons set a franchise record for points this season. The offense has continued to roll in the playoffs with victories over the Seahawks and Packers.
That body of work made several teams express an interest in Shanahan after firing their head coaches. Quinn hired Shanahan after not having worked with him before.
The 49ers don’t have nearly the same offensive talent as the Falcons, especially at quarterback. San Francisco played Colin Kaepernick and Blaine Gabbert at the position this season and the offense had poor results with both.
Shanahan inherited plenty of offensive talent with the Falcons. But it was Shanahan’s incorporation of players other than stars that made his offense stand out in his second season with the Falcons. The Falcons set an NFL record with 13 different players catching at least one TD pass.
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