Shanahan and Lynch deserve so much credit for turning the 49ers around
The San Francisco 49ers have enjoyed success under Kyle Shanahan and John Lynch. The team sorely needed direction and stability when the duo took over before the 2017 season. The first season started slowly, with the team losing nearly every game before a trade for Jimmy Garoppolo injected some life into the organization, and 2018 essentially ended with Garoppolo’s ACL injury in Kansas City. The team competed in four out of five NFC Championship games with two Super Bowl berths from 2019 to 2023.
Even with last year’s disappointing 6-11 record, the 49ers have the stability that many franchises crave across the NFL.
So, where do Shanahan and Lynch rank as a tandem in 2025?
Patrick Daugherty of NBC Sports has the duo at number seven.
So much of the Kyle Shanahan magic is about the scheme that it can be easy to forget the roster sorcery. Shanny and John Lynch like big names and aren’t afraid of trades. They also do things like turn the final pick of the draft into one of the league’s highest-paid quarterbacks. “Highest paid” sometimes trips Shanny and company up. There have been a litany of contract squabbles in recent years, likely too many to maintain true locker room comity. Perhaps that’s why there was no money drama with a quarterback in Brock Purdy who probably should have been nickel and dime’d in extension talks. But perhaps Shanny is learning. He is definitely always evolving. Evolution will be a must for 2025 after an injury-plagued 2024. On defense, former mainstays Dre Greenlaw and Talanoa Hufanga are gone. The same is true of free agent busts Javon Hargrave and Leonard Floyd. Former DC Robert Saleh is back. It’s a similar story on offense, where Deebo Samuel has been shipped out and Brandon Aiyuk is rehabbing a torn ACL. 2024 first-rounder Ricky Pearsall needs to develop. This isn’t as star-heavy of a group as recent seasons, but the Niners have made a whopping 37 draft picks over the past four years. As long as Shanny keeps developing with the best of them, the next wave of impact 49ers should begin coming into its own.
Shanahan and Lynch fell from number two in 2024 to seven, but there is no doubt the duo is top-tier tier given all the high-end talent they have drafted and developed.