Patience sought for long rebuild
On the day he was introduced as the 49ers’ head coach, Kyle Shanahan said he and general manager John Lynch planned to rebuild the 2-14 team they’d inherited “the right way.”
The right way? After invoking the phrase a few times, Shanahan explained: Their plan involved patience.
It’s a little-used word in the NFL, but Shanahan and Lynch can afford it. They have six-year contracts and a boss, Jed York, who can’t afford to fire them anytime soon because he’s still paying the two head coaches and a GM who preceded them.
“Doing it the right way means making whatever the best decision is that’s available,” Shanahan said. “Not, ‘Hey, we’ve got to make sure we Head coach Kyle Shanahan and general manager John Lynch have six-year contracts.
look good in Year 1, so let’s go do this just so we have a chance to win a few more games.’ Does that help us in Year 2? If it doesn’t, then that’s not the right decision.”
Now, six weeks later, Shanahan and Lynch have made the first decisions of the Gradual Rebuild. The takeaway: They stuck to their plan to be patient in their initial foray into free agency.
Since the start of free agency March 9, the 49ers have signed 13 players and traded for Baltimore center Jeremy Zuttah. In addition, they signed nose tackle Earl Mitchell and cornerback K’Waun Williams before free agency started.
That activity — particularly when compared with former GM Trent Baalke’s on-thesideline approach — suggests the 49ers were part of a freeagent frenzy.
However, the reality is they took a measured approach that has left them with a leaguehigh $75.3 million in salary-cap space, about $22 million more than the runner-up Browns.
The best example of their approach: quarterback.
The 49ers haven’t traded high-end draft picks for Washington’s Kirk Cousins, who also probably would command a $100 million-plus contract. Instead, they signed Brian Hoyer, a competent placeholder for 2017, to a relatively modest two-year deal and have options at the position.
They could use multiple picks, including the No. 2 overall, on QBs in next month’s draft, hoping to find a young, reasonably priced franchise savior. They also could use their gobs of salary-cap space to sign Cousins or New England’s Jimmy Garoppolo if they become free agents in 2018.
In 2017, the 49ers have shelled out big money on other offensive positions, signing wide receiver Pierre Garcon and fullback Kyle Juszczyk. Still, they used free agency mainly for low-wattage moves to begin overhauling the middle and back end of a talentstarved roster.
About that rag-tag roster: Of the 21 free agents from last season’s team, Shanahan and Lynch have welcomed back only wide receiver Jeremy Kerley and defensive tackle Chris Jones; they released wide receiver Torrey Smith, safety Antoine Bethea and center Marcus Martin. In a further indictment of the 2016 49ers, only three of their remaining 19 free agents have signed elsewhere.
The lack of returnees created openings, many of which have been filled by role players. That group includes blocking tight end Logan Paulsen, backup quarterback Matt Barkley, deep-threat wideouts Marquise Goodwin and Aldrick Robinson and three defensive players (Brock Coyle, Don Jones and Dekoda Watson) known mostly for their special-teams play.
“I think while there’s a lot of numbers, we didn’t reach for anything,” Lynch said. “We found guys that fit (our system). If not, we’ll wait. So I think while the numbers are big, and we’re really happy about that, we felt like we found guys that we were excited about being here. Not just getting guys because we needed guys . ...
“We were fortunate that we had a lot of (salary-cap) room and we still have a lot more room. So we’re in great position. We have an owner that if we don’t use the room this year, we carry it over until next year.”
The 49ers, who are desperate for young, productive players who will be around for a potential turnaround, were wise to not empty their wallet in free agency.
After all, most of the NFL’s best, young players are retained by their incumbent teams and don’t reach the open market. Meanwhile, the few who become free agents command exorbitant contracts, which the 49ers discovered when they made the in-demand Juszczyk, 25, the NFL’s highestpaid fullback.
Juszczyk will be joined next month by several other young players. The team has 10 draft picks, and its performance in the draft over the next few years probably will be the biggest factor in whether Shanahan and Lynch successfully remodel the fixer-upper franchise they’ve inherited.
Building through the draft is prudent, if not necessarily an expedient way for a moribund team to return to relevance. Shanahan and Lynch believe the right way isn’t the fastest.
Last month, in his first public comments as the head coach on a team-produced video, Shanahan tempered expectations for Year 1 of what could be at least six years in Santa Clara.
“Give us some time,” Shanahan said. “Be patient with us.”