Lynch looks to rebuild team’s culture
In 1996, just-hired Tampa Bay head coach Tony Dungy met with his players and offered the standard prattle about winning a Super Bowl.
He didn’t stop there. And what he added has stuck with John Lynch, then a Tampa Bay safety, who has invoked Dungy’s words often since being hired as the 49ers’ general manager.
“He spoke to (winning a Super Bowl), but he also said, ‘If that’s all we’ve done, we haven’t done enough.’ And he talked about the role we had in our community,” Lynch said in January. “So I think you can do both. I think they enhance each other. I think that’s going to be at the forefront of the culture.”
The charismatic Stanford alum has been
charged with re-establishing the culture of a once-proud franchise that has fallen short of CEO Jed York’s goal of “winning with class” in recent years.
In less than three months, Lynch has made his mark, most notably by releasing starting cornerback Tramaine Brock hours after hearing that he’d been arrested for felony domestic violence. It was the 15th arrest of a 49ers player since 2012, and it was unique in that it inspired an immediate termination.
Now, Lynch will turn to his first draft, which is dotted with the usual prospects who have been red-flagged for character concerns.
Two of the top defensive players, Alabama inside linebacker Reuben Foster and Michigan safety Jabrill Peppers, tested positive for diluted urine samples at the combine, which the NFL counts as a positive drug test. And two of the top running backs, Oklahoma’s Joe Mixon and Florida State’s Dalvin Cook, are firstround talents who could slide because of off-field issues. Mixon, from Oakley, was suspended for the 2014 season at Oklahoma after he was charged with misdemeanor assault following an incident in which he punched a woman in the face.
Lynch acknowledged the impossibility of fielding a roster comprised of 53 pillars of the community.
“I think the one thing to know — and I’ve learned from playing and from this process — is people have issues,” Lynch said. “Just like a lot of people in life have issues. And so if you’re looking for a bunch of choirboys, that ain’t happening. It would be hard to fill a team. But we believe in football character. Do they love football? Are they dependable? Are they accountable?”
Lynch said the process of reshaping the locker-room culture has started. The 49ers have signed or traded for 19 players since Feb 22. They have re-signed just two of their 18 unrestricted free agents. Much of that was about upgrading the talent on a 2-14 team, but Lynch said other factors were involved.
“We got rid of some people that we didn’t feel ... sometimes were more talented, but we didn’t feel embodied what we wanted to be all about,” Lynch said. “And (we brought in) in people that do represent that.”
Lynch was asked whether the 49ers would be more apt to take chances on character-risk players in future years, after they’ve established a locker room patrolled by established leaders. He agreed with the premise that 2017 might not be the year to gamble on players with significant off-field issues.
“What I’ve found is, when you have a locker room that is strong, maybe you can bring some people in that have seven of the 10 qualities but three of them aren’t there,” Lynch said. “... Are we there yet? No. We’re not there yet. So I think that’s fair that in the future we’d feel much better about doing that. That’s what we’re striving for.”
During his 15-year NFL career, Lynch won the Bart Starr Award, given to the player who best exemplifies character and leadership. In Tampa Bay, with Dungy, his teammates included running back Warrick Dunn and linebacker Derrick Brooks, who both won the Walter Payton Man of the Year Award.
However, Dungy didn’t have a team of choirboys. One of the Bucs’ best players during his tenure was Hall of Fame defensive tackle Warren Sapp, who slipped to the No. 12 pick in the 1995 draft after reports of multiple failed drug tests. He also was arrested and charged with marijuana possession in 1997. In retirement, he has been arrested for domestic battery and assault, although both charges were dropped.
Lynch was asked whether Sapp possessed the “football character” he’s seeking.
“I can tell you this about Warren Sapp: That guy loved football. I never wanted to play without him. My job was a lot harder when I played without him,” Lynch said. “He was dependable. Those are the type of things. While he’s had some issues, one of the things (head coach) Kyle (Shanahan) talks about a lot is ‘protect the team.’ And I felt that most of the time Warren protected the team.
“No one’s perfect. I think that’s an example.”