Lynch senses Shanahan’s excitement to find 49ers solutions for 2025 originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
The 49ers are deep into their process of finding remedies for what ailed the team this season.
General manager John Lynch, appearing Friday morning on KNBR’s “Murph and Markus” show, said the organization’s plan is “well in the works” as they look to make a dramatic improvement next season.
“We just got to get back to where we belong, which is competing for championships,” Lynch said. “I wholly and strongly believe that we’ve got the group in place to do that. A lot of circumstances that happened this year and us just not taking care of business.”
The 49ers were decimated by injuries to some of their top-paid players, such as Christian McCaffrey, Brandon Aiyuk, Trent Williams and Javon Hargrave.
But they also let several games slip from their grasp throughout the season due to widespread breakdowns.
“We had so many opportunities this year, and we just didn’t get it done,” Lynch said.
As a result, the 49ers are 6-10 entering the regular-season finale at the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday. The 49ers will finish last in the NFC West after making deep playoff runs in each of the three previous seasons.
The silver lining, Lynch said, is the ability for the organization — especially coach Kyle Shanahan — to spend at least an additional month of the offseason working on solutions to get better for next season.
“While this is not a place that anyone wants to be, I feel a lot of excitement from Kyle, the opportunity to have a whole offseason as opposed to a very expedited one because you’ve played in a Super Bowl,” Lynch said.
The 49ers will study what occurred this season to find the root of their issues, Lynch said. And that includes the personnel department figuring out which players should stay and go, and which plays to pursue via free agency and the draft.
Quarterback Brock Purdy will no longer be playing on a minimum contract, so the 49ers will have to construct their roster with more limitations on the salary cap. Purdy is expected to sign a lucrative, long-term contract extension in the offseason.
The early end to the season will also afford Shanahan and his coaching staff the opportunity to take a deep dive into all the schematics for offense, defense and special teams.
“I think it’s a good opportunity for a nice reset for this team and I feel very optimistic about where we can go,” Lynch said.
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