Kyle Shanahan Reveals How John Lynch Became General Manager

Kyle Shanahan unveils how John Lynch pitched to him to become the 49ers general manager.

"That's a guy that I wanna go to war with."

That is what Kyle Shanahan said on the the Flying Coach podcast with McVay and Peter Schrager regarding how he and John Lynch teamed up. 

The whole story about how the two came together is not fully known, so when Shanahan hopped on as a guest on the podcast he revealed how Lynch became general manager of the San Francisco 49ers. Shanahan doesn't really do a great job at recollecting what Lynch was saying to him about wanting the job, but what he does do is reveal his takeaway thoughts and feelings from his talk with Lynch.

"Everything he was saying, which he would describe better than I am now," said Shanahan, "the intentions of why he wanted to be a GM, everything was just so exactly what I wanted and then you take in a part of it, I mean, he's John Lynch, he's Captain America in real life. He's such an honest dude, such a good football player, a Hall of Fame career. What type of guy is that nice and the most violent player ever? That is very unique. He's also a Stanford guy. He's much better at remembering names and being polished up than I am, so he can do all that and he wanted to do it for the right reasons. 

These two have clearly formed and strengthened a bond together. They are generally on the same page, which is not to say that conflicting opinions are bad, but that they are both in synchronization a good portion of the team. The dynamic that they both have created works out for them both. 

"I knew I was going into a spot where I didn't know everybody," Shanahan said. "I knew we had a lot of work to do, and I knew I wanted to go through it with someone, and I knew if I was going to go through that with someone it has to be someone I trust. And even though I wasn't with John a lot, I could trust his reasons why he wanted to become a GM, why he was getting into it. That's why anytime he says something, I can trust it. It's never to get an advantage in this league, it's never to protect himself, it's never to be famous. He got in this league because his goal is to win a Super Bowl and to build a team the right way."

Obviously, Shanahan is the one that steers the ship. He is the captain and Lynch is second in command. A lot of the time in the NFL, a relationship like this can wear out by now given the length of time these two have put in. But neither seem to waver as their bond looks unbreakable.