49ers focus: Should fans question the leadership of John Lynch
By Joseph Naki
Taking over as general manager for the San Francisco 49ers in 2017, John Lynch took the helm of an organization in need of direction and purpose. As the 49ers look to a new beginning, all faith and confidence exude from ownership to fanbase in hopes of a brighter future.
Bringing a positive vibe and oozing of self confidence, general manager John Lynch brought to San Francisco a business plan, if executed correctly, would restore the 49ers to greatness once again.
Buying into Lynch’s business model of winning Super Bowl championships, the 49ers Faithful got behind the 46-year-old Stanford University standout in full support of his agenda in 2017.
Lynch’s engineered plan of building his team from the bottom up literally had to start from the basement. The task of putting together a winning team had to begin by cleaning house.
San Francisco 49ers
Starting out on his mission, Lynch first had to address his current roster in identifying football players worthy, then weeding out guys who would be more suited playing for the Tallahassee Warthogs, or some other less-known destination.
Turning over a roster from lackluster to one of respect would take time and patience.
Through free agency and the NFL Draft, Lynch would have to provide his team with key pieces sorely needed to become elite and playoff eligible.
So with the 2017 NFL Draft on the horizon, the new GM worked hand in hand with Adam Peters, Vice President of Player Personnel, in efforts to determine and identify players who would not only fit scheme, but to secure players that maintained an upstanding attitude on and off the field.
John Lynch’s First NFL Draft
Draft day is here, and the rookie GM shows his savvy in the war room by trading his No. 2 overall selection to the Chicago Bears, moving down one spot to No. 3.
Essentially fleecing the Bears, Lynch was able to broker a deal receiving a hefty package of picks, including Chicago’s No. 3 overall pick, a third- and fourth-round pick and a 2018 third-round pick.
Crack! That’s the sound of a home-run ball launched straight into San Francisco’s McCovey Cove at AT&T Park off Lynch’s first at-bat.
Pretty good start for a new GM getting his feet wet.
Optimism is all a glow for every die-hard fan of San Francisco. Excitement and hope engulfs the Bay Area like a deep fog rolling in on a summer day.
How could things possibly go wrong from an auspicious start performed by the invigorating Lynch? Impossible right? No way this guy will falter, no way.
With the No. 3 pick in the 2017 NFL Draft, the San Francisco 49ers select Solomon Thomas, defensive end, Stanford.
Crack! Back-to-back homers! The kayaks are swarming McCovey Cove like seagulls to a fish feast!
Thomas is an upstanding young man with no off-the-field issues. David Shaw, head coach of the Stanford Cardinal spoke highly of Thomas, saying:
"I kept saying I think he’s a first-rounder right now,” he said. “All of our coaching staff is looking at him and saying he is a difference-maker. He’s a first-rounder. I think a lot of people watched the bowl game because it was an exciting game. And the more you watched, the more you noticed that the best player on the field was Solomon Thomas."
The first round is over. 49ers fans need to wait for day two to see what the mighty Lynch will do in his next at-bat.
Its bottom of the 9th inning, the first round of the 2017 NFL Draft is coming to a close, but not for the big stick-carrying Lynch, who strolls to the plate, looks at his rivals, the Seattle Seahawks, in their glaring eyes and says, “make a deal or else.”
Lynch gives up his fourth-round pick, just acquired from Chicago, and his second-round pick, No. 34 overall, to obtain Seattle’s 31st pick, moving into the first round from the second.
With the 31st pick in the 2017 NFL Draft, the San Francisco 49ers select Reuben Foster, linebacker, Alabama.
Eureka! We just struck gold! It’s a bonanza!
The 49ers Faithful scurry to their flat screens in amazement, thinking “this is impossible. No way did we just land a top-10 prospect at No. 31. No way.”
Crack! And this time the kayak crew have no shot in retrieving Lynch’s long ball. It’s in San Francisco Bay. Its gone. Lynch goes 3-for-3 on the day with three dingers to his credit. A day Barry Bonds would be proud of.
Wielding his bat like Jon Snow in a Game of Thrones battle scene, Lynch took over the first round, slaying the competition and leaving every 49ers fan with hope for a bright future. The mighty Lynch made his statement and leads the charge of the 49ers.
How could things possibly go wrong from an auspicious start performed by the invigorating Lynch? Impossible right? No way this guy will falter, no way.
Looking Back a Year Later
The NFL is filled with GMs that will soon be former GMs because of the mistakes they make in free agency, drafts and not keeping the salary cap in mind. Many have fallen in trying to build a winning team quickly with no regard to expense. Some have made faulty decisions on player evaluation, and some have made the ultimate-but-detrimental decision of selecting a player with serious off-the-field issues.
So far, the salary cap is not a huge issue for Lynch, spending smartly and deliberately has been his forte. However, did he reach with Thomas as his No. 3 overall pick?
Solomon Thomas:
- Outstanding athlete
- Great character guy
- Good work ethic
- No off-field issues
Checking all the boxes, Thomas is the epitome of the perfect football player Lynch and the 49ers desire to have on their roster.
It doesn’t hurt things knowing Lynch and Thomas formed a bond taking a class together at Stanford.
Starting his reign as new GM for the 49ers, Lynch went out and got his buddy and fellow alum, Thomas, as his first selection overall. The Stanford connection kicks off Lynch’s career. Awesome.
According to Charlie Campbell of Walter Football,
"NFL teams aren’t as high on Thomas as the media though. In speaking with sources from nine different teams, seven of them thought that Thomas is more of a mid-to-late first-round pick.The issue that is coming up the most with Thomas is that many teams feel has tweener size with his best fit coming as an end in a 4-3 defense, although he lacks length for that position."
Playing in 14 games, starting 12 and missing two in his rookie season, Thomas, drafted to pressure and sack the quarterback, logged in 34 tackles with three sacks to his credit.
Three sacks. Yes, three humble sacks.
In comparison, rookie Takkarist McKinley, selected No. 26 overall by the Atlanta Falcons, posted six sacks, and rookie Derek Barnett, selected No. 14 overall by the Philadelphia Eagles, notched five sacks with a fumble recovery that catapulted his team to victory against the New England Patriots in Super Bowl LII.
My point being, Thomas could have been taken in the middle of the first round, and his stats would have warranted his selection. Campbell had it right, Thomas is a first-round guy, but nowhere near a top-10 guy.
When selected No. 3 overall in an NFL Draft, you are supposed to be a can’t-miss-type of player. Thomas has not come close and looks more like an average defensive lineman at best.
At this point, and despite all the talk of remaining patient, Thomas will get better. But no question, Lynch whiffed on an immediate-impact player out of the blocks. The mighty Lynch and his big stick took a swing for the fences and came up snake-eyes; craps dice on the come out.
The first-year GM missed out on football players who would provide an instant infusion of talent on the 49ers roster. I can’t even imagine how the offense would look like with Leonard Fournette and Jimmy Garoppolo paired together, or having defensive backs Jamal Adams or Marshon Lattimore roaming the secondary in Levi’s Stadium.
Shaking my dang head.
- Leonard Fournette, RB
- Jamal Adams, S
- Marshon Lattimore, CB
- Derek Barnett, DE
Oh wait! It gets better! The mighty Lynch is not done swinging his formidable bat.
Remember, Lynch took another first-round talent in Foster. Shucks, Lynch even gave up two precious draft picks to move up and snag the out-of-touch, problematic Foster.
Understanding Foster is a game changer when on the field, did Lynch make a decision on gut feeling, or did he actually balance the scales in making a sound informative decision by communicating with Peters and staff before selecting Foster?
With Foster’s off-the-field issues continuing to stack up in a serious nature, Lynch and his front office personnel find themselves in a proverbial pickle.
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South Bound & Down
The organization, led by CEO Jed York, presently maintains patience while collecting all information regarding Foster’s recent arrest. I’m sure the decision-making process includes being meticulous in obtaining any and all information, so keeping an open mind at this point makes perfect sense.
Though in the past, the 49ers have released the likes of linebacker Aldon Smith and defensive end Ray McDonald with similar charges Foster currently faces. The precedence has been set, so it will be interesting to see how the 49ers organization will approach Foster’s situation.
No doubt, Foster will incur some kind of discipline from the team and/or league, but to what extent? Will the 49ers keep the talented linebacker, would they trade the former first rounder or will they just cut him?
Questions flow like a river in this regard. Questions that demand answering.
Like the mighty Thor, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell has very little problem bringing down his hammer in justice. So what’s in store for Foster with the league?
Clearly Foster’s off-field antics will damage the organization and set them back to some degree.
Foster will, no doubt, miss a lot of games due to his misguided actions, and will be unavailable to the 49ers for a good amount of the 2018 season.
Locking up Foster’s signature meant an inside linebacker wouldn’t be needed in the near future. That has now changed and in a significant way. The LB situation is now priority No. 1 for the 49ers, and teams across the league know it.
Giving up precious draft picks, a second- and fourth-round pick to attain Foster at No. 31 overall, sent a clear message from Lynch to everyone in his war room along with 49ers fans across the globe — talent out trumps off-field issues, instant gratification outweighs value of draft picks and player evaluations mean very little, if anything at all.
What Now?
Lets recap why GMs find themselves out of a job in the NFL:
- salary cap- no regard to expense – over paying
- faulty decisions on player evaluation – over drafting
- selecting players with serious off-field issues
San Francisco’s second-year GM has made two critical mistakes out the gate. I don’t think Seattle Slew could make up the kind of ground Lynch lost with his first two selections of the 2017 NFL Draft.
By missing strongly on Thomas and Foster in the first round, Lynch will be under serious scrutiny come day one of the 2018 NFL Draft.
Questioning the leadership of Lynch is not unreasonable, and in fact, warranted on every level of fair and impartial thinking.
It’s not unreasonable to call for accountability. It’s not wrong to shine a light on a subject that truly calls for illumination.
I wear the rose-colored glasses, I love the pom-pom squad and I can pump the sunshine like no other. However, I have more days behind me then I do in front of me, and I want to see my 49ers win championships before I take the deep-six.
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Former Niners GM Trent Baalke is gone, good riddance. But thanks to terrible management over the years from the top to the bottom, the 49ers Faithful have suffered over two decades without a championship. I don’t want the current GM to make the same mistakes Baalke did in the war room.
It’s time to think smart. It’s time to make the 49ers great again.
The stage is set, the spotlight firmly pointed on the second-year GM of the 49ers. It is his time in the limelight to show what he’s made of. All eyes will shadow his every move.
Next: Pre-Scouting Combine 49ers 7-round mock NFL Draft
The 2018 NFL Draft is right around the bend. Let’s hope the mighty Lynch does better at his second attempt of procuring impact players for his roster. One can only hope.