The Era of John Lynch Has Begun
The San Francisco 49ers are rebuilding from what can only be described as the most epic collapse in NFL history. The Niners made several changes in the offseason after hiring John Lynch as their general manager. Yes, the same 9-time Pro Bowler and 2-time All-Pro John Lynch who has made a living as the color commentator for NFL games on Fox. Lynch took on a talentless 49ers squad that had over $80 million in available cap space. He plans to take the organization from a dismal 2-14 record, to the playoffs by bringing in players that fit his scheme, and finding valuable picks in the draft.
No team is complete without a top-tier head coach, and the 49ers have found that in offensive genius Kyle Shanahan. The 37-year-old coach has been an offensive coordinator for the last 9 years, and 6 of those teams finished in the top 10 for points scored. Lynch and Shanahan will have to build this offense from the ground up as the offense only has 2 players who have been elected to a Pro Bowl – LT Joe Staley, and FB Kyle Juszczyk. It wasn’t long ago that the 49ers had one of the most feared defenses in the league and it appears that it’s Lynch’s focus to regain their form. He has signed four defenders that will quickly make their name known amongst Niners fans – OLB Brock Coyle, OLB Malcolm Smith, DT Earl Mitchell, and most notably All-Pro OLB Elvis Dumervil.
The best way to jumpstart an organization is to find valuable picks in the draft. San Francisco did just that by somehow convincing the Chicago Bears to sell the farm to draft Mitchell Trubisky. John Lynch received the Bears third overall pick, a third rounder, a fourth rounder, and a 2018 third rounder for the 2nd overall selection. The real kicker is that the Niners were still able to select Solomon Thomas, who was the player they had their sights on from the beginning. Lynch then used one of his extra picks combined with their second rounder to trade places with the Seattle Seahawks so they could draft Butkus Award winning linebacker Reuben Foster. Lynch went on to make four less substantial trades to fill key positions on the roster.
John Lynch has the attention of every NFL organization and we are all waiting with bated breath to see what he does next.