Matt Miller of Bleacher Report on Tuesday wrote about friction between San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan and general manager John Lynch. Shanahan responded to the report just hours later.
"Complete bulls--t," he said of Miller's report via a text message to NBC Sports Bay Area.
Kyle Shanahan's response:
Complete B.S.
(Except he spelled out the entire word.)https://t.co/Bv5EmGpPMq
— Matt Maiocco (@MaioccoNBCS) April 30, 2019
In case you did not read the report published by Bleacher Report, Miller stated the following:
"According to sources in the team's scouting and coaching staff, the two aren't in lockstep as far as the vision of the offseason and the future of the franchise. The coach, Shanahan, wants to scheme and develop players while not being bothered with the player evaluation process, but more and more he finds himself involved while not trusting the decision-making of Lynch—a former media analyst after his Hall of Fame playing days but not someone with a scouting background."
He went on to speculate that the difference in opinions might lead to the departure of Lynch and VP of player personnel Adam Peters down the road with Shanahan searching for someone else to run the 49ers' draft and free agency.
Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area later stated that he has never seen any indication of friction between Lynch and Shanahan.
Kyle Shanahan and John Lynch signed matching six-year contracts in 2017. They both have four years remaining on their deals. There has been no indication of any acrimony or distrust from what I've personally seen and heard.
— Matt Maiocco (@MaioccoNBCS) April 30, 2019
Lynch and Shanahan were both hired in 2017 following two one-year stints by the previous head coaches. They were awarded six-year contracts and are preparing to enter their third season together. Lynch was Shanahan's hand-picked choice for general manager and campaigned to 49ers CEO Jed York for his hiring.
Lynch called Shanahan, who was still with the Atlanta Falcons, in January of 2017 to say he would be interested in the job.
"It came out of nowhere so I really didn't know what to expect," Shanahan said in May of 2017. "I sat there and I thought about it. I was like, 'Man, this really surprised me.' I got off the phone and I went downstairs and talked to my wife. She's like, 'What was that?' I was like, 'John Lynch just said he'd be interested in trying to be a general manager.'
"And she's like, 'What do you think about that?' I'm like, 'I'm not totally sure. It kind of threw me off but what I'm feeling right now is that's the best thing I've heard.'"
Days later, York hired Lynch.
Miller, a long-time 49ers fan, responded with the following to one fan who questioned the report and stated he might not be fond of Lynch:
I don't despise anyone. Especially not Lynch. I've rooted for the 49ers my whole life. I want them to succeed.
But as you mentioned, don't think anyone can deny that I've had plenty of info on them dating back to Baalkes regime. Even had them taking Deebo at 36 for a while https://t.co/KKOgS1WCDk
— Matt Miller (@nfldraftscout) April 30, 2019
