John Lynch: ‘Good news is around the corner’ on new contract
A key question arose last month when 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan was given a lucrative contract extension through 2025: what about his general manager, John Lynch?
The two signed matching six-year contracts when they took over San Francisco in 2017 and presumably shared similar job security following the team’s run to the Super Bowl after earning the top seed in the NFC last season. But Shanahan was the first and only one to get an extension.
Shanahan’s new deal is believed to make him one of the five highest-paid coaches in the NFL. Lynch indicated Tuesday an extension for him may be in the pipeline from CEO Jed York and that Shanahan was a higher priority because of where his pay fell in relation to other coaches in the league.
“Jed came to us right before the Super Bowl and said, ‘Hey, this offseason, I want to take care of you both, I want to extend this relationship,’” Lynch said on KNBR’s Murph & Mac Show. “Kyle was first in line because of a lot of semantics.”
Shanahan was believed to be in the bottom third of annual salary among coaches on his first deal while Lynch was making more relative to other GMs because he was coming from a high-paying job as an analyst for FOX.
Lynch also said the COVID-19 pandemic may have slowed contract talks while the organization focused its energy on getting team headquarters prepared for training camp amid the new health and safety protocols.
Lynch made it sound like negotiations over a new contract are back on.
“I could tell you think there’s some good news around the corner,” Lynch said. “I kind of live in the moment, not thinking years and years out, don’t know if I’m going to be a lifer at this thing, but I love what we’re doing, I love coming to work each day and I think there’s some good news on the horizon and Jed and the York family have been tremendous to me.”
Jamal Adams trade ‘wasn’t a reality’ for 49ers
Lynch during his radio interview confirmed the 49ers were never seriously considering a trade for former New York Jets safety Jamal Adams, who was swapped to the Seattle Seahawks on Saturday for a package including a pair of first-round draft picks.
“Being up there against it with with what’s happening in the cap due to the pandemic, it just wasn’t a reality for us,” Lynch said.
Lynch referenced the ongoing contract talks with George Kittle and the fact the 49ers have little financial wiggle room going forward while other key starters such as tackle Trent Williams and corner Richard Sherman remained unsigned for 2021.
If the team were to lose Williams and/or Sherman in free agency, they would likely use their remaining draft capital to find cheaper replacements at those key positions. That would have been tough if those draft picks had been traded to New York.
Naturally, Lynch said the 49ers did their diligence and were interested in Adams, a first-team All-Pro last season, given his talent and upside. But the price was simply too high and the Seahawks had fewer players needing market-setting contracts in the future making it likely they could sign Adams to a long-term contract.
“Kyle and I always have conversations,” Lynch said. “… And then you start looking into it. The way we’re built, we’re getting up there against the cap, the things we have planned the future, what’s happening with this pandemic to the cap, it just wasn’t a reality for us.”