San Francisco 49ers CEO Jed York spoke with Michael Silver of NFL Media on Friday and discussed what it means to bring in head coach Kyle Shanahan and general manager John Lynch. York discussed his excitement to have them join the 49ers, their attitudes, and what their six-year deals mean to the players and fans.
York was not able to officially hire Shanahan until his former team, the Atlanta Falcons, was done in the playoffs. That wait lasted until after Super Bowl LI. Shanahan was officially named the new head coach of the 49ers the next day – a week after Lynch was named the general manager. Both signed their contracts on Wednesday.
York was asked how he feels after the long search. "I feel great," York said. "You couldn't be more excited about Kyle and John. Both are just studs. They're pros. They've been in this, literally, their entire lives and I think they're going to work great together and that's the most important thing. You see enough teams that, the first thing you have to do is keep from losing and having your GM and head coach on the same page, I think you check off that first box. And then it's the rest of the work that we need to get going with."
Jed York: 'Kyle and John will be here a long period of time'
Silver asked how it makes York feel, hearing that Shanahan didn't feel that he needed to demand certain things at the negotiation table. "Those guys, it's their personalities," York said. "They ultimately want to win and they're not worried about, 'Am I going to get all the credit? Is somebody else going to get credit?' They're worried about, 'How do we get the win this week? How do we build up enough to get to the playoffs and how do we get to February?' And that's what we've talked about. Making sure we have all those things in place. It's not about ego and you need to set that aside if you want to win in this business."
York was asked about Shanahan and Lynch's six-year deals and what that says. "I think it's the most important thing to our players," York responded. "We've had too much turnover and teams that turn over do not do well. There needs to be a clear understanding that Kyle and John are going to be here for a long period of time. Our fans need to know that. I love our fans. They've stuck with us through thick and thin and there needs to be a lot more thick and that's what we're pushing for and that's what we need to make sure – that we enhance. And those guys being here for six-year terms, that's – again, I said that in the press conference – I hope they're here a lot longer than that and I expect them to be here, but the message is clear. They're going to be here for a long time.
"It's just cool to know that Kyle understands the history of this place. He understands how special it is and he's talked about it and I certainly know his dad well enough where he's talked about it. His dad was always a great coach and I think he learned the cultural piece when he came here from '92 to '94 and that propelled him to be, in my opinion, a Hall of Fame coach. And I think Kyle learned from that very early on and that certainly shaped him as he built his career and I think he's going to bring a lot of that to the 49ers."
Of course, fans likely remember that York said something similar about Chip Kelly's job stability after hiring him in January of 2016. "Chip's going to be here for a long time, period," York said when asked if Kelly would be fired if he did not succeed in his first – and what would be his only – season with the 49ers. Of course, Kelly only received a four-year deal and York has undoubtedly shown patience and flexibility during the most recent head coach search.