Chris Simms cheekily calls Kyle Shanahan the ‘GM of the 49ers’: “You think that John Lynch made the call on drafting Ricky Pearsall”

Simms believes Kyle Shanahan has complete authority when it comes to making recruiting decisions.

Chris Simms cheekily calls Kyle Shanahan the ‘GM of the 49ers’: “You think that John Lynch made the call on drafting Ricky Pearsall”

San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan (left) and general manager John Lynch watches the players during Training Camp at the SAP Performance Facility near Levi Stadium. (Via Imago)

The dynamic between a general manager and the head coach in sports teams is interesting. A head coach is expected to have an advisory role in the selection of a player ahead of the draft. It is at his advice that the GM makes the ultimate decision but in some cases, the general managers make a call as per their instinct.

In the case of the San Francisco 49ers, things work differently. Head coach Kyle Shanahan is the ultimate decision-maker.

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Analyst Chris Simms believes the dynamic that John Lynch and Kyle Shanahan share is misunderstood by the public. Despite the former’s designation as the general manager, it is ultimately the latter who makes the call at the end of the day.

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Kyle Shanahan's picking the players, Kyle Shanahan is the GM of the 49ers, he has absolute total power, it's not to take away anything from a John Lynch...it's Shanahan then Lynch but at the end of the day.
Chris Simms said via NFL on CBS

It is not entirely surprising to see such a dynamic across the NFL like the way Simms cited the instance of Kansas City Chiefs’ GM Brett Veach and Andy Reid, where the latter has the final call on whom to draft and bring aboard. The general managers in these instances merely act as the facilitators, the head coach instructs them to bring aboard a player who they deem a good fit on their team and they end up making sure it happens.

Chris Simms credits Kyle Shanahan for drafting Ricky Pearsall in the Draft

Another interesting aspect that is noticeable in that teams where the head coach has the final say in terms of roster decisions happen to be the most successful ones. This is because the head coach knows what can work for his style of play and which athlete is the perfect fit for that roster.

Kyle Shanahan
John Lynch and Kyle Shanahan (via Imago)

Simms further went on to credit Kyle Shanahan for drafting wideout Ricky Pearsall in this year’s draft as he believes John Lynch was not the one who made that call. 

Do you think John Lynch made the call on drafting Ricky Pearsall at 31 when nobody in the f***ing world thought he was worthy of that pick for the most part?...Lynch is of course supplying the information, knows what Shanahan wants, and then of course knows what he wants and what works too...
Chris Simms added

His insight is fascinating as Lynch is revered across the league as being one of the more powerful GMs. He is the face of the 49ers and is an outspoken personality. Lynch prefers to be the public face of the team and this can put the illusion out there that he is the mastermind behind the team’s decisions.

Simms believes John Lynch understands the requirements of Shanahan and does the research and gathers a bunch of ideal candidates whom he believes would fit well with the San Francisco 49ers. He then leaves it to Kyle Shanahan to figure out who the best candidate from that is.

This is the best dynamic that a GM and a head coach can share, ultimately, both of them put their egos aside and understand that each of them brings a unique skill set to the table. They benefit from it and ultimately work for the welfare of the team. Due to this, it comes as no surprise that the 49ers have managed to succeed in the past few years in terms of recruiting.

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