The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
First-time GMs take over
Niners’ selection of Lynch a surprise; Colts name Ballard.
Matt Millen couldn’t help but chuckle about the similarities to his own career path when John Lynch was hired as general manager of the San Francisco 49ers.
Like Millen, Lynch is a former Pro Bowl defensive player who went straight to the broadcast booth before taking over the front office of a struggling team.
“It’s funny. The parallels between John and I are very similar,” Millen said in a phone interview Monday. “He will just have to learn the job fast. It’s not an easy job. It’s an all-encompassing job and it’s a job that never ends.”
The 49ers made a surprise move Sunday night when they hired Lynch out of the broadcast booth at Fox ahead of several more experienced candidates to be general manager of a team coming off a two-win season.
Millen made the same jump 16 years ago when Detroit hired him as team president and CEO. He added the GM duties two years later. In seven-plus seasons at the helm, Millen’s team posted an NFL-worst 31-84 record, and he was eventually fired three games into an 0-16 campaign in 2008.
Lynch comes into a difficult spot, with San Francisco’s talent and performance plummeting after making three straight trips to the NFC title game and one Super Bowl appearance under coach Jim Harbaugh from 2011-13.
Harbaugh was let go the following season in part because of friction between him and GM Trent Baalke, and Jim Tomsula and Chip Kelly followed with one-year tenures as coaches.
Kelly and Baalke were both fired after the Niners matched the worst record in franchise history at 2-14 and CEO Jed York has spent the past four weeks looking for replacements.
Atlanta offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan is the only remaining candidate for coach and is expected to get his first head coaching job after the Falcons play in the Super Bowl on Sunday.
Colts: Owner Jim Irsay is turning to another firsttime general manager to get his franchise back on track.
Eight days after firing Ryan Grigson and conducting a week of interviews, Irsay hired former Chiefs executive Chris Ballard.
“Chris has a solid reputation throughout the National Football League as a heavyweight executive and our extensive discussions with him confirmed that reputation,” Irsay said in a statement released by the team. “He’s a savvy, organized, and thorough talent evaluator, but beyond that, he’s a terrific person our community will be proud of.”
Ballard has never previously served as a top decisionmaker, but he comes with a long history as a scout and front-office experience.
He was hired by the Chiefs in 2013 as the director of player personnel and was promoted to director of football operations under current GM John Dorsey in 2015.
Last season, the Chiefs earned the No. 2 seed in the AFC playoffs and they’ve been a consistent playoff contender despite not having a Pro Bowl quarterback.
Like Grigson, Ballard worked with coach Andy Reid. And like Grigson, the move comes after most teams had already announced offseason coaching and front-office changes.
Irsay has already said he expects coach Chuck Pagano back on the sideline.
Raiders: Billionaire casino mogul Sheldon Adelson pulled out of a deal to build a $1.9 billion domed stadium for the team in Las Vegas
The move deprives the team of a chief financial backer. Adelson played an instrumental role in the effort to lure the Raiders, which eventually grew into spending $750 million in taxpayer money on the deal.
He and his family had pledged $650 million — an amount the team will have to seek from other sources.
In a statement, the Raiders acknowledged Adelson’s involvement over the past year and promised to make good on owner Mark Davis’ vow to move to Las Vegas.
The Raiders will go forward with a decision pending before NFL owners, who must approve the move.
The $1.9 billion project would consist of a $500 million commitment from the Raiders, along with $750 million approved by the Nevada Legislature last year with an increase on hotel taxes. That leaves $650 million — Adelson’s previous pledge — to complete funding.
Etc.: Former Cowboys defensive end Greg Hardy submitted an application to play in an independent football league in April, The Associated Press reported. Hardy’s agent, Drew Rosenhaus, didn’t immediately return a phone message.
Hardy didn’t play this past season following a tumultuous 2015 with Dallas because of his domestic-violence case in North Carolina.
Hardy, 28, would not receive a salary for playing in the Spring League, which is designed to give former NFL draft picks a shot to display their talent.