Looking back to help Levi’s in the future

Before John Lynch looked to the future, he connected with the past.

Shortly after he became the 49ers general manager in January, Lynch reached out to what he termed the franchise’s “Mount Rushmore”: Joe Montana, Jerry Rice, Ronnie Lott and Steve Young.

His message: We want you to be a part of what we’re rebuilding.

I told them, “We understand that you guys are great role models for us,” Lynch said Wednesday night at the 49ers’ “State of the Franchise” event. “You’re here. You’re part of our history. We understand we have to do it on our own and we’ve got to create it on our own. But we would sure like your example to be around this program and to be around our players.”

Lynch’s comments before about 1,000 season-ticket holders at the Santa Clara Convention Center came on a night in which the 49ers announced they will honor their five-Super-Bowl dynasty in several ways in 2017.

Most notably, they will reestablish what they had at Candlestick Park by recognizing the 26 players in their ring of honor. The players’ numbers will be displayed on the suite tower on the west side of Levi’s Stadium, which opened in 2014.

In addition, on Oct. 22, when they host the Cowboys, they will have “Dwight Clark Day” to recognize a ring-of-honor member who played the starring role in the most iconic play in franchise history — “The Catch” — against Dallas. Clark, 60, announced in March that he has Lou Gehrig’s disease, a terminal condition that affects control of muscles needed to move, speak, eat and breathe.

In addition to the ring of honor, the 49ers will also have signage recognizing Super Bowl wins, conference titles and division championships. Murals and other nods to the past will fill the concourse.

“We want that concourse to be a museum of all the great history of the San Francisco 49ers,” president Al Guido said.

The obvious question: What took so long?

The 49ers did build an impressive museum detailing their history inside Levi’s. But the stadium, often criticized for being sterile and corporate, hasn’t blended much outside acknowledgment of the glory days with its modern look.

For some alumni, Levi’s has been symbolic of a desire of CEO Jed York and his family to create a separate legacy. In January, Young said the change in ownership in 2000 marked a break from the past.

However, Lynch, who played for Bill Walsh at Stanford and played against 49ers legends during his 15-year career, has aggressively embraced the past since he was hired. He raised the topic of the franchise’s history during his first interview with York and executive Paraag Marathe and said they responded with “passion.”

Since Lynch and head coach Kyle Shanahan were hired, the 49ers have created a mural that greets their players as they enter the locker room. The mural includes Young, Montana, Rice and Lott and has a quote from Shanahan (“It won’t be easy, but it will be worth it”) that suggests hard work will help them re-create the success those players enjoyed.

“Those players, we’ve had to earn their trust and we continue to have to do that,” Lynch said. “But they’re warming up to it. And that’s special for me. Because those guys deserve to be a part of it and we want them to be, very much so.

CB signed: The 49ers signed cornerback Will Davis, a 2013 third-round pick who has suffered two torn ACLs in a career that includes one interception and five pass breakups in 20 games with the Dolphins and Ravens.

The 49ers released wide receiver Rashad Ross, who was signed to a reserve/future contract in January, to make room for Davis on the roster.