Lynch was in Texas, where he and his family were spending time with his daughter, a student at TCU. That's when people started congratulating the 49ers general manager on his extension. That surprised him since the actual signing took place weeks earlier.
Still, Lynch is grateful for the expression of confidence by 49ers management.
"I think [head coach] Kyle [Shanahan], yesterday, I heard him use the term 'grateful,'" Lynch said Friday morning on KNBR's "Murph and Mac" show. "And I think I would tell you this: The Lynch family, myself, I've got a ton of gratitude for the York family. They've been very good to us. We've enjoyed kind of growing this thing. And while we've fallen short of our ultimate objective, what we all do this for, to win championships, I think we've given ourselves, on a perennial basis, an opportunity to be that team.
"And I think I've talked about it before, but a reason why I'm still here and not broadcasting, for as nice as this contract is, a lot more money, is that I'm driven by that, and I love our situation. We've got an ownership who trusts us to do what we think is in the best interest of the team, yet they're involved. They give us support."
Shanahan and Lynch joined the 49ers together in 2017. While things started rough, the team has been to three NFC Championship Games and a Super Bowl over the past four seasons. However, it has failed to bring him the organization's sixth Lombardi Trophy.
That could change this season. San Francisco owns one of the league's most talented rosters and is currently the betting favorite to win Super Bowl 58.
"I love working with Kyle," Lynch continued. "I think I've told you guys before, I think the world of him. As a tactician, I think he's as good as it gets, and as a leader. And then the staffs we've put together. And we've kind of survived the brain drain of losing a lot of good people who have interest in what we're doing here. And I think that speaks to the culture we have.
"So it's really cool, it's fun, and we're having a blast. And I'm very appreciative of the York family for coming to us and saying, 'Hey, let's take this out a little bit longer and keep this thing together.'"
You can listen to the entire conversation with Lynch below.
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