John Lynch stressed several things in his introductory conference-call just now as the 49ers surprising new GM, and they were all very sensible things:
-He only started thinking about this a few weeks ago, in the days after calling the Falcons-Seahawks playoff game and chatting with Kyle Shanahan, and from there this situation took off; if he hadn’t called that game, I think there’s no doubt he’d never have chased an interview with the 49ers;
-He didn’t have to take this job, he was happy at Fox, and he had some specific questions for Jed York and Paraag Marathe before he accepted the gig;
-He understands he’s coming in as a total NFL executive neophyte and wasn’t about to start dictating philosophies or roster changes–Lynch said he repeatedly told York during the process that “I know what I don’t know” about being a GM;
-He sees his role as expressing his vision of what he wants the team to play like and act like, and leading the group to get there, and that sounds very, very gauzy and non-distinct, but again, there’s no reason for Lynch to draw it up more definitively than that right now.