What's at Stake for the 49ers if Their Trade Up Doesn't Work Out

Let's say this massive trade for the No. 3 pick does not work out for the 49ers. How would that outcome affect the franchise and the future of John Lynch and Kyle Shanahan?

If the trade doesn't work out, the 49ers most likely would fire one or both of them. One firing could be this year (probably Lynch), and the other could be the year after (probably Shanahan). Because if they get this trade wrong, the 49ers would have to tear down the roster and build it back up. And Lynch and Shanahan probably won't get a second opportunity to construct the 49ers from scratch. They'd have to start over.

I still don't quite understand why Lynch and Shanahan did this trade in the first place. It's like the Robert Griffin III trade, when Washington traded three first-rounders and a second to St. Louis to move up for Griffin. That trade was doomed from the beginning -- there was no possible way Griffin could justify all the assets Washington traded to get him. And he did not live up to expectations. And Washington held Kyle Shanahan and his father responsible, and fired them.

So why would Shanahan do this trade again?

It feels more like a Jed York trade to me. It's risky and desperate and rash -- all of York's trademark qualities. The trade feels out of character for Lynch and Shanahan.

I wonder if York gave them an ultimatum: Get a new quarterback this year, or else.

If so, what choice did Lynch and Shanahan have?

I do not envy their position.

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