5 most successful general managers in 49ers history

49ers top general manager No. 1: John McVay (1983-1990)

Remember the part about Bill Walsh handing over the general manager keys in 1983?

The choice? The best general manager in 49ers history, John McVay.

It was one thing for Walsh to rebuild a downtrodden franchise in the late 1970s and then claim the organization’s first-ever Super Bowl after the 1981 season. It’s another to then take that squad and build it into arguably the best dynasty in football history before the New England Patriots’ own 20-year run two decades later.

If the 1980s mark the Niners’ most dominant decade, then McVay has to be viewed as the franchise’s most dominant GM, right?

Grabbing the greatest wide receiver player in NFL history in the 1985 draft, Jerry Rice, is only a small component of McVay’s success. What stands out as even more impressive is the fact McVay’s teams combined for a 96-30 regular-season record, and that .762 winning percentage ranks tops among all San Francisco general managers in the modern-football era.

Oh, and McVay’s 49ers never missed the playoffs during his tenure either, tacking on three more Super Bowls in the process.

Yes, there’s a reason why the Niners named their NFL Draft room, the “John McVay Draft Room.”

He’s No. 1. Plain and simple.