With a comfortable job as a Fox analyst, a family in San Diego and a small window to figure out whether he wanted to be the general manager of the 49ers, John Lynch said he posed a lot of “direct questions” to team owner Jed York during their interview process.
Thursday, Lynch acknowledged that one of those questions had to do with former 49ers players – and the notion that some alumni felt less than embraced by the organization in recent years.
“And I said I have to have that, where these guys are not only welcome, but encouraged. That’s what we’re aspiring to be. So the more we can have them around, the better to me. And I got that assurance.”
Though Lynch never played for the 49ers, he did play under Bill Walsh at Stanford and recalled players like Joe Montana and Ronnie Lott coming out to watch their practices.
Lynch made a point during Thursday’s press conference of acknowledging former 49ers in the audience, including Keena Turner, Eric Wright and Jesse Sapolu.
“Those guys created the standard that we’re striving for,” Lynch said. “I’ve reached out to a lot of these guys and let them know that not only are they welcome, we really want these guys around because that’s what we’re aspiring to be. I’ve also told them we can’t ride on their coattails. We understand that we have to earn their trust as well.”
