49ers GM John Lynch: Commanders 'Made A Great Hire' With GM Adam Peters

Washington Commanders general manager Adam Peters worked with San Francisco 49ers GM John Lynch from 2017-2023.

Few people know new Washington Commanders general manager Adam Peters better than San Francisco 49ers GM John Lynch. 

The duo worked together in the Bay Area since 2017 and helped turn the 49ers into a perennial playoff team. With Peters set to run his show, Lynch believes his former assistant is ready to put his imprint on the Commanders. 

"He has the opportunity to put his imprint on a really storied organization,' Lynch told the Commanders' team website. "That's typically when you go into some place. It's not because they've been great most of the time. It's because there's been some challenges, and he's up for that. I think he's been there before, albeit not in that role. But he has been around that and knows what it takes. It's just kind of tireless work."

Lynch added: "I think the Commanders made a great hire," Lynch said. "He's a great friend, and I wish him all the success in the world."

Adam Peters / Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

Peters began his front-office career as a scout with the New England Patriots from 2003-2008. He then went to the Denver Broncos, where he was a scout, assistant director of scouting and director of scouting from 2009-2016. 

In Denver is where Peters and Lynch first met. Lynch is a Hall-of-Fame safety who played for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1993-2003) and the Broncos (2004-2007) and was a nine-time Pro Bowler and two-time All-Pro. While Lynch was scouting defensive backs for Denver, he ran into Peters, and he said they hit it off immediately. 

Once Lynch arrived as the 49ers' general manager in 2017, he knew that he needed Peters to be a part of his staff. Peters was the 49ers' vice president of player personnel and became the assistant general manager in 2021. Along with working his way up the front office ranks in San Francisco, Lynch noted how he could rely on Peters whenever he needed help. 

"You can't do everything," Lynch said. "And he allowed me to prioritize and not have to do everything and be very comfortable that the message was gonna get communicated, that the job was gonna get done to my liking. He also took good direction."

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Since 2019, the 49ers have gone 64-29 in the regular season and have made the playoffs four times, with two conference championships and one Super Bowl appearance. They've also assembled one of the best rosters in football under the guidance of Lynch and Peters. 

Lynch credited Peters' role in helping the team develop their process, which has helped turn them into one of the NFL's best. 

"Adam did a tremendous job of helping to lead them and creating our process," Lynch said. "And I think the hallmarks of that was it was extremely collaborative. It started with Kyle [Shanahan] and my own relationship and being right there with each other, but that's not enough. It's gotta permeate throughout the entire organization."

Peters will have a chance to quickly develop his process in Washington with the most cap space in the NFL and five picks in the top 100 of the 2024 NFL Draft, including the No. 2 overall pick. If Peters can find the same success he had in San Francisco with drafting and developing players, he'll have a chance to turn Washington around quickly.