Lynch, Shanahan have big supporter in York UP NEXT
SANTA CLARA >> On one side of the bay, the Raiders followed Sunday’s rare win by firing their general manager. At 49ers headquarters, their second-year regime looks entrenched, even though coach Kyle Shanahan and general manager John Lynch preside over a 3-10 record that mirrors the Raiders’.
Jed York, the 49ers CEO, gave Shanahan and Lynch a not-so-subtle endorsement amid an emotional and powerful speech in the locker room after Sunday’s 20-14 win, a speech that honored York’s younger brother, Tony, who died Friday.
Vowing to end the 49ers’ Super Bowl-victory drought that’s reached 24 seasons, York implored players to: “Believe in this brotherhood. Believe in this guy (motioning to Shanahan), believe in this guy (motioning to Lynch), believe in yourselves.”
When York’s father, John, the 49ers co-owner, came out to watch practice last Thursday, he spoke informally with reporters and also expressed confidence in how Shanahan and Lynch are operating. More Seahawks (8-5) at 49ers (3-10), Sunday, 1:05p.m., FOX
wins, more touchdowns, more interceptions would be nice, of course, as would less injuries to key players such as Jimmy Garoppolo.
In other words, the injury-stricken and hard-luck 49ers aren’t headed for a radical regime change, stabilizing after a whirlwind of exits from 2014-16 that included coaches Jim Harbaugh, Jim Tomsula and Chip Kelly, plus general manager Trent Baalke.
With three games remaining, the 49ers are in full evaluation mode for 2019, and although Shanahan ultimately decides who plays in games and who suits up, he doesn’t do so without consulting Lynch.
“We talk about everything, definitely,” Shanahan said Monday. GARÇON DONE >> Wide receiver Pierre Garçon will undergo arthroscopic knee surgery and get placed on injured reserve this week after missing five of the past six games, Shanahan said. Thus ends Garçon’s season and possibly a 49ers tenure in which he played only eight games in both 2017 and ‘18.
Shanahan said Garçon, 32, isn’t ready to retire after 11 seasons. Garçon’s knee swelled up after Wednesday’s practice, leading to him be inactivated Sunday. He had 24 receptions for 286 yards and one touchdown this season.
Kendrick Bourne, a second-year player, and Marquise Goodwin, normally the split end, filled in for Garçon at flanker against the Broncos, with Bourne playing 43 snaps and Goodwin 24. Meanwhile, Shanahan kept Dante Pettis focused at split end to enhance his development, and albeit for a couple late-game hiccups, he came through with a key, third-down conversion on their final series. Pettis also scored a touchdown for the third straight game.
KITTLE’S NEAR-RECORD >> Shanahan called several plays to try getting George Kittle one more catch that could have pushed his 210yard total past the NFL’s single-game record for a tight end (214 yards). But Kittle got shut out after halftime as the Broncos adjusted their coverage.
“Every play mattered there at the end,” Shanahan said. “You’re trying to call plays to win the game, not break a record . ... The only people that were happy were probably Shannon Sharpe and my dad.” Sharpe set the single-game record in 2002 with the Mike Shanahancoached Broncos.
Kittle’s 1,103 receiving yards — the most in a season by a 49ers tight end — ranks 10th in the league, and his 708 yards-aftercatch are only 2 shy of NFL leader Christian McCaffrey (Carolina Panthers). Kittle ranked third last week among tight ends in Pro Bowl fan voting, which ends online this Thursday.
Pettis jokingly took some credit for Kittle’s big day, saying: “I was playing Madden (video game) the other night, and I told him: ‘I went off. You had four touchdowns and like 230 yards.’ So I’m not saying it’s because of me, but I did tell him it’s what happened.”
DEFENSIVE AUDITIONS >> The 49ers allowed their secondfewest points all season, and they did so with a youthladen defense auditioning several injury replacements in extensive action: weakside linebacker Elijah Lee (for Malcolm Smith), nose tackle D.J. Jones (for Earl Mitchell), nickel back D.J. Reed (for K’Waun Williams) and safety Marcell Harris (for Jaquiski Tartt). Of that bunch, only Mitchell wasn’t dealing with an injury.