In awardwinning GM Lynch, 49ers found ‘Captain America’
Niners head coach Kyle Shanahan on Friday revealed that he calls John Lynch “Captain America.” That was a day after the franchise’s general manager picked up another title.
On the heels of a regular season that clinched the NFC’s top playoff seed and has the 49ers on the brink of the Super Bowl, Lynch was named the NFL Executive of the Year by the Pro Football Writers of America on Thursday.
“I call him ‘Captain America,’ because it’s true in how he acts and stuff. He’s like that all the time. He’s extremely genuine,” Shanahan said. “When you’re like that, when you were as good a player as he was, when you’re as smart as he is, when you have the passion he has … I knew he’d be very good at” being a general manager.
A ninetime Pro Bowler during a 15year NFL career as a defensive back, Lynch worked as an analyst for NFL on Fox after his retirement. Shanahan joked that Lynch had a dream job on TV, “working three days a week” and living in San Diego.
Amid the 49ers’ process of hiring Shanahan in 2017, Lynch made a cold call to the wouldbe head coach and said he wanted to be part of the team.
“For someone to want to leave that job to come into this line of work, I was so impressed, because I knew the reasons he wanted to do it,” Shanahan said. “He loved football. He loved being around it. He wanted to be with a team, and he wanted to build it the right way.”
After going a combined 1022 in Lynch’s first two seasons, he made a series of transactions that are among the reasons the 49ers are hosting Sunday’s NFC Championship Game.
This offseason, Lynch traded a secondround pick for edge rusher Dee Ford, and grabbed defensive end Nick
Bosa with the No. 2 overall pick. He also signed freeagent linebacker Kwon Alexander, who became the emotional leader for one of the league’s best defenses.
Even during a dominating regular season that was showcasing a strong draft class, Lynch was strengthening the roster. In late October, he acquired receiver Emmanuel Sanders from Denver for two draft picks.
Lynch is the third 49ers’ GM to be named NFL Executive of the Year, joining Carmen Policy (1994) and Trent Baalke (2011).