The John Lynch Experiment can be officially declared a success.
Well, we could have declared it that way in late January, when Lynch’s San Francisco 49ers won the NFC Championship convincingly, but Wednesday’s news solidifies it. NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo reported that the 49ers have agreed to the terms of a multi-year extension that will keep Lynch in charge of the team until 2024.
Lynch was a surprising, if not surprising, choice in January 2017. Having no previous office experience, the 49ers jumped off the cliff by hiring Lynch, who named Kyle Shanahan as their head coach a month later.
The flight wasn’t exactly free of turbulence, but the 2019 sprint to a conference title and the appearance of Super Bowl LIV confirmed that San Francisco was wise to think outside the box when he chose Pro Bowler nine times.
Lynch’s most significant move came just nine months after he was hired, when he sent a second-round pick to New England for quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo. From there, the old security of All-Pro has meticulously made the team a candidate for the title.
Lynch’s running back complement perfectly complemented Kyle Shanahan’s offensive scheme in 2019, producing the league’s No. 2 rush attack. His willingness to invest on the defensive front produced the second-best defense in the league in terms of yards allowed per game, and key additions in the offseason – 2018 Richard Sherman pickup, for example – helped strengthen the back of a stifling unit.
By winter, he and Shanahan’s collaborative efforts had produced a beast that won its way to Miami. They’ll be tasked with maintaining a higher level of talent and expectation in the Bay Area, where fans hope to see a repeat in 2020 with one key difference: instead of giving up a lead in the Super Bowl, they’ll want to watch the men of golden dome bring the Lombardi trophy home.
