California’s Santa Clara (AP) — On Friday, the San Francisco 49ers extended the contracts of general manager John Lynch and coach Kyle Shanahan for a number of years.
Together, the two signed with the 49ers in 2017, and by the time their third season rolled around, they had transformed a squad that had only won two games the year before into a reliable contender.
The Niners advanced to the Super Bowl in 2019 but were defeated by Kansas City in both the 2021 and 2022 NFC title games. After defeating the New York Giants 30–12 on Thursday night, San Francisco is 3-0 so far this season—their second 3-0 start in the last 25 seasons. Under Shanahan and Lynch, San Francisco is 55-46 with six postseason victories in over six seasons. The Niners are 45–25 since the 2019 season began, and they are second in yards per play (5.94) and seventh in scoring (26.4 ppg). Shanahan’s creative offensive concepts have enabled the team to overcome its lack of a star quarterback.
There have also been a few conspicuous omissions. After passing up the chance to select Patrick Mahomes in the 2017 NFL Draft, San Francisco traded three first-round selections to select quarterback Trey Lance third overall in the 2021 draft. In his first two seasons, Lance only started four games. Last month, he was traded to Dallas for a fourth-round pick.
The fact that San Francisco selected Brock Purdy, a starting quarterback, with the final pick of the 2022 draft meant that the decision did not prove to be a significant setback. Since assuming the starting role in December of last year, Purdy has greatly outperformed his draft position and been a perfect fit for Shanahan’s system at quarterback. SEE MORE
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