Kyle Shanahan "Gets Uneasy" When 49ers GM John Lynch is Away

I wonder why?

Jul 27, 2022; Santa Clara, CA, USA; 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. Mandatory Credit: Stan Szeto-Imagn Images | Stan Szeto-Imagn Images

John Lynch isn't your typical general manager.

Most GMs are former scouts. So during the football season, they usually travel around the country on weekends and scout college players.

Not Lynch. At least, not often. He usually stays in Santa Clara. And that's for two reasons. One, he never was a scout. He's a former player. And two, Kyle Shanahan would prefer Lynch to stay in the facility.

"I'm not one of these guys that's out every weekend scouting, primarily because Kyle likes having me around here," Lynch said. "He gets uneasy when I'm gone. So I make it count when I leave. I ask my scouts every year, 'Where's a place I could really help by going?'

"Typically it's pretty predictable where you're going to go -- the schools with all the talent or a school that maybe the head coach won't say a lot to scouts but if the GM comes, he'll give you everything. I try to be pretty targeted in where I go, when I go."

What an interesting thing for Lynch to say.

I wonder why Shanahan would get uneasy when Lynch goes on the road without him. Maybe Shanahan wants Lynch in the facility to talk to the owners and the front office for him while Shanahan draws up plays by himself. Who knows?

I'm guessing Shanahan wants to focus on coaching. And when Lynch leaves, Shanahan feels like he has to run the entire organization, and that gives him anxiety. That's just a guess.