49ers hiring John Lynch as GM

[Mr. WEO]

 

That is got you have got the order of this wrong. They chose Shanahan and then hired Lynch because they want someone who can get along with him - Lynch played for mike and must have known Kyle a long time. He was tied to the Head Coach and the Head Coach's dad and that is how he got this job.

 

I have not called it a bad hire though. He is going to be asked to be a General Manager in the dictionary definition more than the traditional football thinking of get a great personnel guy, but that can still work. Jerry Jones has looked pretty smart the past few years as a GM managing a team of talented personnel people. John Elway has proven that model can work too. I like that they have admitted the whole thing is a mess and are giving him and Shanahan 6 year deals to build it from the ground up.

 

I am just saying that it IS cronyism. It might be outside of the normal NFL thinking - you are right about that.... but hiring a GM who has been out there and put in the hard yards as a regional scout and worked his way up on merit is LESS of a crony hire than a guy who knows your chosen Head Coach's dad - even if that person is as bright and knowledgeable as Lynch may be.

 

 

That got us our last 2 GMs....

Hiring Lynch is bold I tell you. Bold!

 

Who is the Broncos GM?

[JohnC]

[/b]I was simply pointing out how you cited Lynch being a hall of fame player as a positive while calling Levy, a hall of fame coach, an incompetent GM. Yes, hindsight proved that to be the case with Levy. [/b]So I question why raising that as a qualification of Lynch means anything.

Selecting Levy who was out of the game for years to be a GM and saying it was a moronic hire was not an after the fact opinion. The outcome of his tenure was predictable before he even started the job. Even he acknowledged that he was not equipped for the job. He took it out of loyalty to the out of touch owner. If you hire me to do brain surgery you don't have to wait to predict that I will kill a lot of people that I will work on. It would be predictable because I was grotesquely unsuited for the job I was hired for.

 

Lynch has been involved in the business as a player and as an analyst. He is familiar and updated on the business compared to Levy who was out of the business for years when called back into duty by the owner. Levy didn't even know all the players on his team. That's why he carried 4x4 cards with him when he was walking on the practice field. That was our GM!

 

The bottom line is that the Levy hiring as a GM was outright weird. That is not saying that Levy isn't an honorable and wonderful human being. The Lynch hiring is an out of the box hiring but there are understandable reasons, whether you agree or not, why he was hired.

Edited January 30, 2017 by JohnC

[GunnerBill]

 

I don't think we disagree as much as it might seem.

 

All we are disagreeing on is the cronyism. I am not against hiring Lynch.... but when part of the reason he was on the radar is familiarity with Shanahan and his dad (and that is what is being reported) then that is cronyism. It might be outside the box creative thinking but it is still cronyism.

 

Hiring a guy who has come up through the scouting ranks with no family ties or people opening doors for him and has grafted on the regional scouting circuit and worked his way up based on merit is not cronyism. It is conventional by NFL standards, but not cronyism. The two things are different.

 

 

That got us our last 2 GMs....

 

 

I'm not saying that approach is the right one (or indeed the wrong one). I am just saying that the Whaley route isn't cronyism (Nix was a bit he was the only name Ralph recognised on the list). It might be conventional thinking, but that doesn't make it cronyism.

[Mr. WEO]

 

All we are disagreeing on is the cronyism. I am not against hiring Lynch.... but when part of the reason he was on the radar is familiarity with Shanahan and his dad (and that is what is being reported) then that is cronyism. It might be outside the box creative thinking but it is still cronyism.

 

Hiring a guy who has come up through the scouting ranks with no family ties or people opening doors for him and has grafted on the regional scouting circuit and worked his way up based on merit is not cronyism. It is conventional by NFL standards, but not cronyism. The two things are different.

 

I'm not saying that approach is the right one (or indeed the wrong one). I am just saying that the Whaley route isn't cronyism (Nix was a bit he was the only name Ralph recognised on the list). It might be conventional thinking, but that doesn't make it cronyism.

 

I hear you. But nearly everyone gets up in the league based on who they know while they are working in the league.

[Doc]

Who is the Broncos GM?

You mean Elway, the guy you've been trashing? And who had infinitely more experience than Lynch?

Edited January 30, 2017 by Doc

[hondo in seattle]

He's never been a scout, nor has he ever led an organization, but now he's going to lead an organization of scouts. Makes perfect sense.

 

If I was scout for the 49ers, I'd be dismayed that I have a raw neophyte who doesn't know what he's doing for a leader. If I was a scout looking for a job, I'd stay clear of the 49ers.

 

If I was a fan of the 49ers, I'd be worried. Lynch just might prove himself to be a quick and able learner. But there aren't a lot of good reasons to predict success here.

Edited January 30, 2017 by hondo in seattle

[Saint Doug]

I feel like a lot about being a GM is a crap shoot anyway. Scott Pioli was considered a genius, but how much of that was because they lucked out onTom Brady. And then he went to KC and was terrible.

 

As a GM, if you basically make 1 right decision (QB), you will do well.

Yeah, KC, pretty horrible stuff going on there.

[Mr. WEO]

You mean Elway, the guy you've been trashing? And who had infinitely more experience than Lynch?

 

 

Trashing yes.

 

Arena football experience. Sorry, no...

[Doc]

Trashing yes.

 

Arena football experience. Sorry, no...

 

So what was the point in bringing up Elway if you think he's doing a bad job? And Arena experience is still more experience than Lynch has, which is zero.

[Punching Bag]

Selecting Levy who was out of the game for years to be a GM and saying it was a moronic hire was not an after the fact opinion. The outcome of his tenure was predictable before he even started the job. Even he acknowledged that he was not equipped for the job. He took it out of loyalty to the out of touch owner. If you hire me to do brain surgery you don't have to wait to predict that I will kill a lot of people that I will work on. It would be predictable because I was grotesquely unsuited for the job I was hired for.

 

Levy took the job because the previous GM irritated the fans and staff so much they needed someone to try to get it civilized again.

And due to how Donahoe acted Ralph needed someone he could trust; Ralph was not out of touch.

[JohnC]

 

Levy took the job because the previous GM irritated the fans and staff so much they needed someone to try to get it civilized again.

And due to how Donahoe acted Ralph needed someone he could trust; Ralph was not out of touch.

The aged owner hiring someone who was out of the business for years and was ill-equipped for a job that he didn't really want is not a demonstration of being in tune with the tough business of football. The main attributes that appealed to the owner was familiarity and his warm personality. The person who took over after the sudden departure of Levy was a marketing specialist. The next person the owner hired was Nix. He was hired for the simple reason that he was the only person he knew on a list.

 

When you are the owner you can do whatever you want with your business. If you don't want to believe that he wasn't out of touch with overseeing the franchise then that is your prerogative. I see it otherwise.

[Mr. WEO]

 

So what was the point in bringing up Elway if you think he's doing a bad job? And Arena experience is still more experience than Lynch has, which is zero.

 

The topic we are discussing is whether another ex player had been hired to run an NFL team without any experience at all with running an NFL team. Elway clearly fits that description. In fact he was given far more power by Pat Bolen, immediately, than the 49ers are giving Lynch.

 

Arena football is a joke. It's a paid rec league. Name one significant decision or problem Elway had to make/solve when he was the "GM " there. I would guess it was how he was going to make payroll every two weeks.

[Doc]

The topic we are discussing is whether another ex player had been hired to run an NFL team without any experience at all with running an NFL team. Elway clearly fits that description. In fact he was given far more power by Pat Bolen, immediately, than the 49ers are giving Lynch.

 

Arena football is a joke. It's a paid rec league. Name one significant decision or problem Elway had to make/solve when he was the "GM " there. I would guess it was how he was going to make payroll every two weeks.

 

Elway is a lone exception and not the rule. The hiring of Lynch looks to most to be a joke. Maybe it will turn out alright but the odds are stacked heavily against him.

[yungmack]

Well that's one way to spin it. In one breath you ridicule a HoF coach Levy and in the other you praise a HoF player Lynch's assumed smarts. But who knows? It could be a good hire. Or it could be Shanny's show.

 

As for cronyism, how many people want the Bills to hire Jim Kelly for a similar position?

Or draft his gazookie nephew.

[hondo in seattle]

 

The topic we are discussing is whether another ex player had been hired to run an NFL team without any experience at all with running an NFL team. Elway clearly fits that description. In fact he was given far more power by Pat Bolen, immediately, than the 49ers are giving Lynch.

 

Arena football is a joke. It's a paid rec league. Name one significant decision or problem Elway had to make/solve when he was the "GM " there. I would guess it was how he was going to make payroll every two weeks.

 

Arena football is a joke. But Elway led an organization there. He had to hire and fire people. He had to coach his employees and hold them accountable for their performance. He had to lead meetings and develop other effective methods of communication.

 

All this doesn't fully prepare you for being the GM of a NFL franchise but it does help.

 

Lynch is totally unprepared.

[Augie]

Lynch is fine as GM, as long as he realizes he needs to hire an actual GM to do all the GM work. Maybe with time he's fine, but not out of the box. They wanted Kyle Shanahan as HC and they go way back. Shanahan had never met the other GM candidates, I hear, and had no comfort level. I hear there's already talk of what former GM type can be brought in to help.

Edited January 31, 2017 by Augie

[YoloinOhio]

Lynch is fine as GM, as long as he realizes he needs to hire an actual GM to do all the GM work. Maybe with time he's fine, but not out of the box. They wanted Kyle Shanahan as HC and they go way back. Shanahan had never met the other GM candidates, I hear, and had no comfort level. I hear there's already talk of what former GM type can be brought in to help.

Dennis Hickey and mark dominik are on the radar

[OldTimer1960]

It's funny how many media and fans criticize GMs and believe that they could do the job as well or better, but when a team hires a guy from Stanford (obviously smart) and has a decade of experience playing NFL football who has no front office experience, they are aghast.

 

Now, I don't know if John Lynch will succeed or have problems, but I think that he has a chance to be successful even though he didn't come up through the ranks in the front office. Guys move from scouting and personnel into GM roles - their scouting roles did nothing to prepare them for managing people and non-personnel related activities that are also part of a GM's job.

[CommonCents]

He hired Adam Peters from Denver and his title will be Vice President of player personnel. That's worth a mention if your going to debate the Lynch hire.

 

Until the Bills get a hire right I wouldn't be so quick to judge any other organization. The 9ers now look to have Lynch, Peters and Kyle Shanahan locked in, I would take the fresh blood over a beaten down Whaley and I'd prefer the offensive minded KS over Big Mac.

Edited January 31, 2017 by Commonsense

[Mr. WEO]

 

Elway is a lone exception and not the rule. The hiring of Lynch looks to most to be a joke. Maybe it will turn out alright but the odds are stacked heavily against him.

 

Millen as well..

 

Again the point being discussed is whether this is unprecedented or not. It's not.

 

 

Arena football is a joke. But Elway led an organization there. He had to hire and fire people. He had to coach his employees and hold them accountable for their performance. He had to lead meetings and develop other effective methods of communication.

 

All this doesn't fully prepare you for being the GM of a NFL franchise but it does help.

 

Lynch is totally unprepared.

 

Then you may as well cite his "experience" owning a car dealership.

 

Every decision he made in that league was of minimal consequence. All he had to do was make sure the bills were paid. It has nothing in common (except the word "football") with running a billion plus $ company such as an NFL team.