How the 49ers Built and Sustained a Strong Culture

The culture the 49ers have built is one that every team in the NFL would give up a ton of for.

It has been an incredibly long time since any player was a MVP candidate on the San Francisco 49ers.

Well, they potentially have two candidates on the squad. Brock Purdy and Christian McCaffrey each have their own case for the award. Following the win against the Arizona Cardinals, both Purdy and McCaffrey were asked who should get it. Each of them deflected it and insisted the award be bestowed upon the other.

Talk about selflessness at its finest. That right there is indicative of the culture of the 49ers, and it's been that way for years. There is a reason the 49ers stormed onto the scene so impressively in 2019. It was more than the roster building for the on-field product. The culture the 49ers have built is one that every team in the NFL would give up a ton of for. It's no wonder why this team is clicking on every level.

For the 49ers to build and sustain this strong culture all these years is nothing short of stellar. Plenty of teams would've cracked with the culture going stale, but the 49ers have retained the same core for the most part and have been able to keep it stable. The reason they are able to do so is because of Kyle Shanahan and John Lynch. It starts with them, then it trickles down with the players who they brought in via the draft and free agency. 

"What we have here is 1000% based off of just the people that are in this building," said Shanahan. "We were presented a very good opportunity by the Yorks to be able to make those decisions and try to get the right people in here to build a culture. Our culture's a hundred percent off the people in this building.

"You go back to our early years and some of those big Draft picks our first year, especially being George that first year, Fred the second year, I want to say we got Deebo in here the third year. But even guys like Ross Dwelley, guys like bringing in [Kyle Juszczyk] Juice, Dre Greenlaw. There's so many guys who have been the type of character that we look for."

Notice how Shanahan mentions Ross Dwelley. Sustaining the culture they have goes beyond the core of star players and starters. It matters who they bring onto their depth chart as well. They always carefully consider who they bring beyond their talents. The type of person they are with how they work and are dedicated matters. They don't look for selfish players, or someone would've complained by now.

Look at Ambry Thomas. By now, he should've wavered in his mentality given how his chances were taken away due to poor play. But he never faltered. He kept it up and eventually bounced back. That is indicative of the player who the 49ers saw beyond the on-field talent. Now he is developing into a key role player on the defense. It's an example of how all young players should be because it can pay off.

"When you do hit on those guys and you get those guys here, it's really cool for younger guys to come in and see kind of how things are done," said Shanahan. "You don't have to talk as much as we used to when we got here because they just watch guys like that do it the right way and they try to emulate them because they know how successful they've been on the field.”

Everything counts into the culture for the 49ers. Even if they don't bring in the most talented player, they at least are bringing in players who will keep the tight knit culture strong. It's like adding sticks to a flame. These players help keep the flame going and that plays a part into why the 49ers have found continued success in the last four years.