How 49ers GM John Lynch Conducts Player Interviews at the Combine

Lynch seems like he makes the interviews memorable and engaging.

Feb 27, 2025; Indianapolis, IN, USA; San Francisco 49ers general manager John Lynch speaks during the 2025 NFL Scouting Combine at the Indiana Convention Center. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images / Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

INDIANAPOLIS -- Every year, almost every NFL team sends both its general manager and head coach to the NFL Scouting Combine to interview the draft-eligible players.

Not the 49ers. At least, not anymore. John Lynch and Kyle Shanahan used to go to the Combine together. But since Covid, Lynch has gone alone and Shanahan has stayed home.

This week, I asked Lynch how he approaches those 20-minute formal meetings with the players.

"You have kind of a set way of doing it," Lynch said. "This year, there was a lot of talk about whether our coach was going to be here or not. We made a decision, Kyle made a decision that for his staff, the time would best be spent at home.

"We have those guys on zoom. We're in the room. You get to know any pertinent questions. We like to get them on the film. I think you get to know these guys a lot, their personalities, you get to hear their recall, you get to hear their football bandwidth. Tell us about what the other team was doing. Tell us about that player you were playing against. What did you learn in your studies that week? You learn a lot about guys through that.

"We have some fun. We try to get them laughing and loose because these guys, as you can imagine, they're nervous. A lot of them are sweating. So you try to break the ice. It's fun. You do different things with different people.

"We had a running back come into today and Frank Gore was in the back of the room. And I said, 'Hey, you know this guy?' And the kid was like, 'Oh, my God.' I don't know if that eased his nerves or made him more nervous, but it was pretty cool. I said, 'You've got two legends, Frank and Bobby Turner up there.' And Bobby was on the zoom. It was a big deal for that kid.

"There are cool moments like that where you get to know these guys a little. I always really really enjoy it. You have to remind yourself that you're trying to make a decision on this kid, but I think putting them at ease is the best way to get to know who they are. Sometimes putting them under duress is better."

Lynch seems like he makes the interviews memorable and engaging. Bringing Frank Gore was a nice touch. But despite Lynch's best efforts, I'm guessing the players would appreciate if Shanahan came to interview them in person as well.

For what it's worth, I asked Michigan cornerback Will Johnson if Shanahan was on the zoom call with the other 49ers assistant coaches during his formal meeting with the team, and he said no.

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