John Lynch

West Notes: Robinson, Broncos, Bolts, 49ers

February 11th, 2017 at 3:08pm CST by Sam Robinson

A new Rams coaching staff seems ready to give Greg Robinson another chance. Despite being benched late in a woeful third season, the underwhelming tackle remains a “big part” of the Rams’ plans going forward, Sean McVay said.

“When you see some of the things he’s able to do, you see the athleticism in space when he’s pulling around and using some of those perimeter schemes that they did offensively last year,” McVay said, via Alden Gonzalez of ESPN.com. “He’s a guy that we’re excited to get around.”

Gonzalez notes a possible course of action prior to McVay’s vote of confidence was simply moving on from Robinson, the No. 2 overall pick in 2014. Cutting Robinson, though, would not make much sense financially given that the team would not save any money — while incurring $6.77MM in dead money — by doing so. McVay did not specify whether he wants Robinson to remain at tackle or move to guard, a topic broached during interim HC John Fassel‘s stewardship. Robinson himself wasn’t eager to make a move to guard when asked about doing so in January.

Robinson committed a league-high 31 penalties between the 2015-16 seasons. The former Auburn tackle is entering the final season of his rookie deal, and the Rams have a fifth-year option decision coming on him soon.

Here’s more from some teams out west.

New Broncos quarterbacks coach Bill Musgrave turned down offensive coordinator jobs to reunite with Mike McCoy in Denver, Nicki Jhabvala of the Denver Post notes. Musgrave and McCoy each interviewed for the Broncos’ OC job. The pair coached together briefly with the Panthers in the early 2000s and spent the 1995 preseason together as backups to John Elway before the Broncos cut McCoy. Supplanted as the Raiders’ OC after two seasons, Musgrave was only previously connected to the Broncos’ OC job during the hiring period.
Elway probably would not have allowed Adam Peters to interview anywhere besides San Francisco, where he’s now the 49ers‘ VP of player personnel. The Broncos GM said (via Eric Branch of the San Francisco Chronicle) he would have restricted a move elsewhere, but since he was going to help John Lynch as a first-time GM, Elway gave the go-ahead.
Despite using him as an evaluator during the 2013 draft process, Elway did not attempt to hire Lynch full-time with the Broncos due to his interest in staying as a television analyst, the Denver GM told Branch.
Matt Slauson figures to return for a second Chargers season, Michael Gehlken of the San Diego Union-Tribune notes, before adding that D.J. Fluker‘s future is less certain. Despite the Bolts picking up Fluker’s fifth-year option last year, Tom Telesco is unlikely to bring the converted guard back at the $8.8MM option price. Fluker’s 2017 salary is guaranteed against injury only, so the Chargers could cut him and save that money.
Gehlken also expects the newly relocated team to at least restructure King Dunlap‘s contract if not outright release the veteran left tackle. Dunlap, 31, is due to make $5.25MM and take up $8.125MM of Los Angeles’ cap. He’s due a $500K bonus if on the roster by March 18. The Chargers reworked Dunlap’s contract last year, converting $1.2MM of his $4.5MM salary into availability-based bonus payments. He earned back $800K of that $1.2MM last season. It would cost the Bolts $3.25MM in dead money to cut Dunlap.

49ers Rumors: Kap, Shanahan, Staff, Reid

February 9th, 2017 at 7:04pm CST by Sam Robinson

Colin Kaepernick appears to be warming to the idea of staying in San Francisco. While it’s uncertain if that’s in John Lynch and Kyle Shanahan‘s plans at this juncture, the 29-year-old quarterback reached out to Lynch. Kaepernick and the new 49ers GM plan to meet soon, Lynch said Thursday (via Eric Branch of the San Francisco Chronicle).

“It will be a football decision,” Lynch said regarding Kaepernick’s status, “but I think part of that, there are different layers to that. I think everything will be included in the decision. I’m not talking specifically about his stance, though. When you have a quarterback, the great ones are leaders of men. All those things will be taken into account. Colin and I, when I did some 49ers games, I’d say we hit it off. I’d say there was a trust there. I think that trust extends, and I was thrilled when he reached out. I’m looking forward to talking with him.”

Shanahan said he will evaluate Kaepernick on film in the coming weeks. Many other signal-callers, like Kirk Cousins or Jimmy Garoppolo, have been linked to the 49ers in recent weeks, and the team can save $16.9MM by cutting Kaepernick. Previously believed to be opting out, Kaepernick is now in wait-and-see mode, joining the new-look 49ers in that regard. He’s the only quarterback under contract with the 49ers for 2017, even if that contract is not exactly binding.

Here’s more coming out of San Francisco.

The official delegation of autonomy came down, and Shanahan will indeed be one of the handful of coaches with 53-man roster control. Lynch will oversee the 90-man roster, free agency and the draft, Albert Breer of TheMMQB.com tweets. Shanahan elaborated on his decision not to ask more from the 49ers in terms of control after being in a position of leverage due to the team’s eventful head coaching search. “I didn’t want to demand all of it,” Shanahan said. “What’s important to you? I’ve always thought none of it matters if you’re working with the right guy. So it’s what do you want to put down on paper? And I don’t need all that down on paper. It was important to me to have the 53 on paper because I think it’s important that the players know that.”
Shanahan made a commitment to former Falcons running backs coach Bobby Turner to follow him to his first HC job “a long time ago,” but he wants previous RBs coach Tom Rathman to stay with the team in a different capacity, Matt Maiocco of CSNBayArea.com notes. The former fullback has spent the past eight seasons on the 49ers’ staff, dating back to the Mike Singletary regime. “I love Tom Rathman. He’s a hero of mine, and I know what kind of coach he is. I’m trying hard to get him to be here in whatever other role he wants,” Shanahan said. “But I know Tom. Tom is a running backs coach. I’m going to try my hardest to keep him here. It’s definitely going to be up to him.”
One of the many players placed on IR during the 49ers’ 2-14 season, Eric Reid looks to be on track to return by OTAs, Nick Wagoner of ESPN.com reports. Reid tore a biceps tendon in late November but told Wagoner a doctor informed him if there was a game this week he would be able to practice. Entering his fifth season, the safety will make $5.676MM as part of the fifth-year option the team exercised.
Lynch does not have a known preference on what kind of defensive scheme he wants the team to utilize. He said (via Nick Wagoner, on Twitter) he’s talked with DC options with backgrounds in multiple fronts. Former Jaguars linebackers coach Robert Saleh, current Patriots ‘backers boss Brian Flores and Falcons passing game coordinator Jerome Henderson are known options thus far. The 49ers have long used a 3-4 alignment, but most of the players from their early-2010s defensively geared run are no longer on the team. That said, 5-technique ends Arik Armstead and DeForest Buckner arrived as first-round investments the past two years.

Extra Points: Patriots, Ryan, Browns, 49ers

February 5th, 2017 at 2:45pm CST by Rory Parks

The Patriots ultimately traded linebacker Jamie Collins to the Browns in late October for a third-round pick, but the Pats initially had their sights set much higher. We learned back in December that New England tried to deal Collins to New Orleans for receiver Brandin Cooks, and Ian Rapoport of NFL.com wrote today that the Patriots also tried to trade Collins to the Texans for DeAndre Hopkins. Unsurprisingly, Houston was unwilling to entertain that offer, but New England also attempted to pry Johnathan Joseph from the Texans in exchange for Collins. Houston was more intrigued by that proposal but valued Joseph too highly to pull the trigger.

Now let’s take a look at a few more links from around the league:

On the subject of seminal trades, the Ravens were ready to part with their entire 2008 draft class in order to trade up to take Matt Ryan at No. 2 that year, Rapoport reports. The Ravens held the No. 8 pick and offered their entire ’08 picks stockpile to the Rams, who held the No. 2 choice. St. Louis also wanted Baltimore’s second-round pick in 2009, which ended up being Paul Kruger, to clinch that deal, per Rapoport. The Rams ended up taking Chris Long at No. 2, with the Ravens trading down to No. 18 and selecting Joe Flacco. In the ’08 draft, Baltimore acquired Ray Rice in the second round but largely whiffed on its other picks. However, the Ravens ended up making 10 selections. The Falcons selected Ryan at No. 3 overall.
More trades: we learned in recent weeks that the team is willing to deal backup Jimmy Garoppolo and that the 49ers, Browns, and Bears could be among the teams with interest. In her latest mailbag, Mary Kay Cabot of the Cleveland Plain Dealer believes the Browns would be willing to part with their No. 12 overall selection as part of a Garoppolo deal if that’s what it takes to land the young signal-caller.
John Lynch isn’t completely devoid of scouting experience, with Matt Maiocco of CSNBayArea.com noting the former Buccaneers and Broncos safety joining recently hired 49ers exec Adam Peters in Broncos meetings and prospect evaluations, eventually accompanying Denver’s contingent to the 2013 Combine. John Elway also put Lynch on some special assignments in recent offseasons, per Maiocco, dispatching the eventual Hall of Fame finalist to evaluate draft-eligible safeties.
In an expansive breakdown of today’s Super Bowl teams’ financial distribution, CBSSports.com’s Joel Corry writes the Patriots using the franchise tag on Martellus Bennett isn’t out of the question due to Rob Gronkowski‘s inability to stay healthy. Corry projects the tight end tag number to come in at $9.894MM. The Patriots have Dont’a Hightower as their apparent top tag candidate, but the linebacker’s tag is slated to be $14.754MM, which could lead the Patriots to proceed with caution despite having already traded Collins and Chandler Jones.

Sam Robinson contributed to this report

Latest On 49ers’ Decision-Making Structure

February 2nd, 2017 at 9:10pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Although 49ers general manager John Lynch will assume control of the club’s draft, free agent, and 90-man roster decisions, presumptive head coach Kyle Shanahan will have final say over San Francisco’s 53-man roster, according to Jim Trotter of ESPN.com (Twitter link).

Such a delineation of power is rather unique in the NFL, but Trotter notes (Twitter link) that at least six other teams use a similar structure. The Falcons — who currently employ Shanahan — utilize the same setup, as general manager Thomas Dimitroff heads up Atlanta’s draft and free agency plans, while head coach Dan Quinn is in charge of the club’s 53-man squad.

All in all, San Francisco’s front office management figures to be a collaborative effort, as Lynch is expected to bring in more executives even after hiring former Broncos staffer Adam Peters as vice president of player personnel. Assistant general manager Tom Gamble could be given the opportunity to stay on board with the 49ers, while ex-general managers Mark Dominik (Buccaneers) and Martin Mayhew (Lions) may also be in the running for a position with the club.

Lynch maintains that he will “aggressively pursue” additional front office hires, but former NFL head coach Mike Shanahan won’t be among those joining the 49ers. While Lynch is open to advice from the longtime NFL head coach, Shanahan won’t be joining his son in San Francisco, at least in an official capacity.

Extra Points: Raiders, 49ers, Falcons, Bears

January 30th, 2017 at 9:08pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

Casino magnate Sheldon Adelson decided Monday to rescind his offer to help the relocation-minded Raiders pay for a stadium in Las Vegas, but that’s not going to faze the franchise. The Raiders issued a statement in response to Adelson’s choice to withdraw support, saying: “The Raiders deeply appreciate the efforts of the Adelson family to bring the Raiders to Las Vegas. We know this project could not have advanced to this point without them. The Raiders remain steadfast in honoring Mark Davis’ commitment to Governor Sandoval and the State of Nevada to pursue relocation to Las Vegas” (via Paul Gutierrez of ESPN.com).

Without Adelson, who had planned to give the Raiders $650MM toward a proposed $1.9 billion facility, the team plans to invest $1.15 billion and accept operating responsibilities, Sandoval’s office told the Associated Press (Twitter link via Vic Tafur of the San Francisco Chronicle). The Raiders could receive help from Goldman Sachs to make that happen.

Now the latest from the NFC:

Rookie general manager John Lynch declared Monday he’ll “aggressively pursue” people he has relationships with to join him in the 49ers’ front office (Twitter link via Nick Wagoner of ESPN.com). That won’t include rumored candidate and longtime NFL head coach Mike Shanahan, whom Lynch played for in Denver from 2004-07 and who’s the father of soon-to-be 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan. Lynch expects to listen to the elder Shanahan’s advice, but he’s not going to take an official role with the 49ers, tweets Charles Robinson of Yahoo Sports.
Kristin Campbell, the agent for Falcons running back Devonta Freeman, publicly pushed for a lucrative contract extension for her client Monday afternoon. Campbell has since spoken again on Freeman’s future, telling D. Orlando Ledbetter of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that she and Falcons general manager Thomas Dimitroff “are on the same page” and will engage in extension talks during the offseason. Campbell will seek top three running back money for the 24-year-old Freeman, a back-to-back Pro Bowler. “Who was the last running back to go to back to back Pro Bowls?” Campbell said. “Adrian Peterson. Adrian is considered one of the most prolific backs of the past 10 years, wouldn’t you say?” Peterson’s current contract pays him an average of $14MM per year, which easily tops his position.
Wide receivers coach Curtis Johnson turned down a new contract to return the Bears for a second season and is mulling taking a position with a different team, reports Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune. Johnson could return to New Orleans, where he coached from 2006-11, Biggs suggests. The Saints are in the market for a WRs coach, having lost John Morton to the Jets over the weekend.
The Bills will hire Phil McGeoghan to coach their receivers, relays ESPN’s Adam Caplan (Twitter link). McGeoghan, who was the Dolphins’ assistant receivers coach from 2012-15, spent last season coaching East Carolina’s wideouts.
Contrary to a report from last week, the Eagles and personnel executive Rick Mueller have not yet parted ways. Mueller is working from home and will join the Eagles at next month’s scouting combine, though his contract is up in May, per Geoff Mosher of 97.5 The Fanatic (Twitter link).

Lynch, McDonough On 49ers’ GM Job

January 30th, 2017 at 7:20pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

The 49ers’ Sunday decision to pluck all-time great NFL safety John Lynch from the broadcasting booth and hire him as their general manager elicited stunned responses from those who follow football. It turns out not even Lynch expected to land the job.

“Two weeks ago I never thought I’d be doing this,” he told reporters, including Matt Maiocco of CSNBayArea.com, on Monday (Twitter link).

Lynch didn’t even conduct an interview with the 49ers, who reached out to 11 other candidates after firing ex-GM Trent Baalke at the outset of January. But Lynch managed to secure a six-year contract to end up in San Francisco, and he revealed that he negotiated his own deal, tweets Cam Inman of the Mercury News. Lynch added that will report solely to CEO Jed York. That means he won’t have to answer to executive vice president of football operations/chief strategy officer Paraag Marathe, whose status as York’s right-hand man caused some issues during the 49ers’ GM search.

In his new position, Lynch’s goal is to emulate the success close friend and fellow Stanford alumnus John Elway has enjoyed as the Broncos’ GM since they hired him in 2011.

“I strive to attack this job in same way he has,” said Lynch, who will interview Broncos director of college scouting Adam Peters to become the 49ers’ player personnel director (Twitter link via Eric Branch of the San Francisco Chronicle).

Of course, the main figure Lynch will work with in the Bay Area is soon-to-be head coach and current Falcons offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan. The 37-year-old recommended Lynch to York, per Jerry McDonald of the Bay Area Newspaper Group (Twitter link), and there’s clearly a mutual respect between the pending GM-head coach tandem.

“I thought he was the catch of this head-coaching cycle,” opined Lynch (via Branch, on Twitter).

Cardinals VP of player personnel Terry McDonough, who was a finalist to become San Francisco’s GM before Lynch swooped in, offered even loftier praise for Shanahan on Monday.

“Sitting there talking to him, Kyle reminded me a lot of coach Belichick when I interviewed with him back in ’92,” McDonough, who then worked as a scout with the Browns, told Maiocco. “Same type of look in their eye. The same type of passion. You just know whatever Kyle Shanahan does, he’s going to be successful in life. If he’s given the time there and they bring in the right players, there’s no doubt in my mind, he’s going to have success.”

McDonough noted that the Lynch- and Shanahan-led 49ers will have their work cut out to improve a two-win roster. However, he believes the organization has the right people in place – including the “very engaging and really intelligent” Marathe.

“That roster right now is very thin,” he said. “I really believe in John Lynch’s intelligence and drive. Their drive matches each other, Kyle and John.”

Continued McDonough: “John Lynch is a guy I actually scouted coming out of college (Stanford). If you’re going to lose a competition to someone, you’d want to lose it to someone like John Lynch. He’s a phenomenal human being. He’s highly, highly intelligent and 100-percent class.”

GM/Staff Notes: 49ers, Colts, Saints, Broncos

January 30th, 2017 at 5:24pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

The 49ers’ shocking general manager choice, John Lynch, will face a “steep” learning curve as a front office neophyte, ex-Lions GM Matt Millen told Eric Branch of the San Francisco Chronicle. As was the case with Millen, whom Detroit hired in 2001, Lynch is coming from the broadcasting booth to take the helm of a franchise. It didn’t go well for Millen, under whom Detroit went 31-84 before it fired him in 2008. “You need to be schooled,” said Millen. “You need to be mentored. You need to have somebody you can go to. That’s not easy.” Lynch could have a less difficult time breaking into his new job than Millen, notes Branch, who points out that soon-to-be 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan is likely to have 53-man roster control. Assistant GM Tom Gamble will also be around to help Lynch make the transition.

More on the NFL’s front offices and coaching staffs:

Newly minted Colts GM Chris Ballard received a five-year contract, according to Mike Chappell of FOX59. Colts vice president of football operations Jimmy Raye III was among the candidates Ballard beat out for the role, and owner Jim Irsay revealed Raye nearly got the job, per Stephen Holder of the Indianapolis Star. Irsay assured Raye, who will remain in the Colts’ Ballard-led front office, that someone else will give him a shot as a GM if the Colts orchestrate a turnaround (all Twitter links here).
While Ballard reportedly isn’t committed to going forward with Chuck Pagano beyond the 2017 season, he spoke glowingly of the five-year head coaching veteran Monday. “There were no other options. Chuck Pagano is a great coach,” said Ballard (Twitter link via Holder). Upon Ballard’s hiring, Pagano stated Sunday that he’s “extremely excited” to work with the rookie GM (via the Colts’ Twitter account).
The Saints have hired Mike Nolan to coach their linebackers, his previous employer, SiriusXM NFL Radio, announced (on Twitter). Nolan coached the Chargers’ linebackers in 2015 and has been a defensive coordinator with seven teams, though he’s best known for an 18-37 run as San Francisco’s head coach from 2005-08.
Broncos head coach Vance Joseph has added “assistant head coach” to running backs coach Eric Studesville‘s title, tweets Mike Klis of 9News. Studesville drew interest from the Jets earlier this month in their search for an offensive coordinator, but he elected to stay in Denver, where he has coached RBs since 2010.

NFC Notes: 49ers, Lynch, Dominik, Saints

January 30th, 2017 at 3:15pm CST by Zachary Links

Here’s a quick look at the NFC:

Before he was hired as the 49ers‘ new GM, John Lynch did not want his involvement in the search to leak out because he was afraid of league-wide perception, Matt Maiocco of CSNBayArea.com tweets. Had he not been hired, he was worried others would feel he was using his TV gig to land a job with an NFL team. Of course, some in the football world could still be of that opinion. As an ex-player and color commentator with no known ambitions of an executive job, Lynch may have had special access to information on rival teams and players.
As of this afternoon, the 49ers have not scheduled an interview with ESPN analyst/ex-Bucs GM Mark Dominik, Eric Branch of the San Francisco Chronicle (on Twitter). That doesn’t mean Dominik won’t be a consideration, but it may at least mean that a deal is probably not imminent between the two sides. By the same token, the Niners managed to keep the surprising hire of John Lynch under wraps.
Saints owner Tom Benson‘s ownership lawsuit is one week away from trial, Katherine Sayre of The Times-Picayune writes. Benson is seeking to remove ownership shares in the Saints (and the NBA’s Pelicans) from trust funds created for his daughter and grandson from back when the family was still on good terms. Ultimately, the trial will not impact control over the teams. Benson maintains control by impact control over the teams.

49ers Hire John Lynch As General Manager

January 29th, 2017 at 7:31pm CST by Sam Robinson

The 49ers’ general manager search will end in an unexpected place. The franchise is expected to hire Fox analyst and former Pro Bowl safety John Lynch as its GM, Jay Glazer of FoxSports.com tweets. The 49ers confirmed the hire.

The organization will give Lynch a rare six-year contract to try and turn this franchise around, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets. Lynch met with Kyle Shanahan this week over lunch, and the 49ers offered him the position, Glazer reports (TwitLonger link), adding the goal appears to be an attitude change in the organization.

Schefter reports Lynch accepted the job today after spending time with 49ers brass this week. Lynch spent Thursday and Friday with San Francisco personnel, Schefter reports, a day before the known finalists for this position — Vikings assistant GM George Paton and Cardinals VP of player personnel Terry McDonough — completed their second interviews in Atlanta.

This idea initially came from Lynch, who called Shanahan to volunteer for the job last week, per Schefter, who adds the prospect then grew on the next 49ers head coach. The former safety plans to hire a personnel man as his top lieutenant and has already identified that executive, Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk tweets.

Schefter confirms (via Twitter) Shanahan will receive a six-year contract as well for the purposes of the franchise tying together its GM and HC choices. This six-year deal isn’t designed specifically for Lynch, with Albert Breer of TheMMQB.com reporting (on Twitter) the 49ers designed a six-year contract for Josh McDaniels to negate the aura of instability around the organization.

Lynch having no front-office experience could be a sign Shanahan would assume more control over personnel decisions, but the Falcons OC is not believed to have requested control over the 53-man roster. Lynch played his final four years for the Mike Shanahan-era Broncos, so the expected power duo in San Francisco has a history, to some degree. Lynch’s relationship with Mike Shanahan could point to a role in San Francisco for the former coach. A place for the elder Shanahan with the 49ers emerged as a possibility earlier this week, although Lynch’s involvement obviously wasn’t believed to be part of the equation.

Ian Rapoport of NFL.com notes (on Twitter) Lynch wouldn’t go through with making this career change unless the franchise’s pursuit of him was kept secret. As Cam Inman of the San Jose Mercury News points out (Twitter link), Lynch had a connection with Bill Walsh as well, playing for the iconic former 49ers coach at Stanford in 1992. Lynch’s leadership and communication skills “wowed” Jed York, Inman notes.

Lynch did not have a formal interview for the position and does not have any experience as a coach or GM. The former Buccaneers and Broncos defender became an NFL analyst after he retired before the 2008 season. Lynch is a Hall of Fame finalist and will edge out the official 49ers GM finalists, who appear to be staying with the Cardinals and Vikings, respectively.

Lynch spent his college years in the Bay Area at Stanford before playing 15 years in the NFL, becoming a two-time first-team All-Pro and a nine-time Pro Bowler. His hire will certainly send shockwaves throughout the league. It’s not completely unlike the Broncos bringing in John Elway in 2011. Elway did not have any previous NFL coaching or front-office experience but did work as an exec in the Arena Football League. Of course, this move also is somewhat similar to Matt Millen‘s Lions hire, with the former linebacker previously working as a Fox analyst.