SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS
John Lynch commits to being GM of the 49ers for 2023: ‘I plan on being here’
After another season of climbing the mountaintop to eventual heartbreak, the San Francisco 49ers will have to pick up the pieces and regroup once again. The person tasked with that job is general manager John Lynch.
But the offseason comes with speculation, including some around the former NFL safety.
After last season, Lynch was asked to join Prime Video as an analyst for Thursday Night Football. He respectfully declined, sticking with the 49ers’ post he’s had since 2017. This time around he was asked a similar question, chuckling a bit before reaffirming his commitment to the Bay.
“I think so. You good, [49ers’ head coach Kyle Shanahan]?” John Lynch jokingly asked his coach during their final press conference of the 2022 season Wednesday. “No, I plan on being here, I really do.”
A few good laughs aside, Lynch will remain with the Red & Gold for the time being, focused on building a better roster than last season. Coming off an NFC Championship berth makes that a bit difficult, but Lynch and the 49ers are looking to build off a special 2022 season.
“I’m committed to doing this and I’m having a great time doing it and committed to finding a way to get a little bit better,” Lynch stated. “I’m real proud of what we were able to do this year. That’s hard to say because our expectations and our standards were to win the whole thing, but I do think in life you have to be able to acknowledge that even when the end result isn’t what you wanted, that some special things happened.
Lynch: "I'm proud of the team we built and I can't say enough about the job that Kyle and his coaching staff did." pic.twitter.com/U161i603D2
— San Francisco 49ers (@49ers) February 1, 2023
“Our job now is to find a way to get better and there’s challenges to that, but that’s what we’ll do. I’m committed, our ownership is committed and Kyle and I are committed to finding a way to get better and that’s exactly what we plan on doing.”
Appearing in the NFC Championship three out of four straight seasons is a remarkable feat, but it’s not enough for Lynch and Co. The organization’s goal has been the same for almost 30 years: Win Super Bowl No.6.
Despite success in deep postseason runs, Lynch and Shanahan are a bit peeved not to reach the pinnacle of football yet. And they won’t rest until it’s done.
“We always come up with a pretty good plan and we’ve gotten close and I think that really ticks us off because we believe in doing everything it takes to finish and we’re committed to doing that,” Lynch continued.
The GM of the 49ers also took time to thank the Faithful Wednesday, noticing a considerable change in the atmosphere at Levi’s Stadium in 2022. Whether the team is playing at home, or away, the fans showed up and the front office is very grateful for that.
“I think Niner fans should be incredibly encouraged about where this organization’s at and where we’re going,” John Lynch said. “Our name is The Faithful, I want to thank all of them. I think they took Levi’s to new heights this year. I think this stadium’s really starting to have a character and identity, it’s become a tough place to play. And then Kyle and I always marvel about when we show up places, the amount of The Faithful that are there and take over stadiums.”
But while appreciative of the increased buzz around stadiums this season, Lynch understands how daunting it has been for The Faithful recently, delivering a lasting message for the fans heading into the offseason.
“To those people I’d ask just please hang in there. We’re working our tails off to deliver a championship and we will not stop until we do that,” the GM stated.
Click here to watch John Lynch and Kyle Shanahan’s final press conference of the 2022 season
