Why the 49ers still haven't made a Statement about Kyle Shanahan's Extension

Hmm.

Six days have passed since the 49ers extended Kyle Shanahan’s contract, and Jed York still hasn’t said a word about it nor extended John Lynch.

Hmm.

I don’t know if the 49ers intend to extend Lynch -- I assume they do. I hope they do. But I can tell you exactly why York hasn’t made a statement about Shanahan.

First, some background.

Last Monday, the 49ers gave Shanahan a three-year extension through 2025. The 49ers announced the news with a press release, but it did not have a statement from York or Lynch. It just contained facts and figures from the Public Relations Department. Highly irregular.

When a team extends its head coach, both the owner and general manager almost always provide written statements for the press release to show their pride in the head coach and list all the ways he earned his new contract. To make the occasion official.

But York couldn’t make a statement, because he didn’t extend Lynch’s contract.

Had York praised Shanahan, people would wonder if York meant Shanahan was more responsible for the 49ers’ turnaround than Lynch. So York has gone silent.

But his silence raises questions, too. Questions such as:

Why didn’t the 49ers extend Lynch’s contract?

Will the 49ers extend Lynch’s contract soon?

Will the 49ers promote Lynch?

Are the 49ers still happy with Lynch?

Do the 49ers intend to replace Lynch with one of his underlings, Adam Peters or Martin Mayhew?

Are Lynch and Shanahan still partners?

Do Lynch and Shanahan still get along?

Had York been transparent the day he extended Shanahan and made a statement saying Lynch was next, none of these questions would exist.

But York won’t speak. So Lynch can’t speak, either. He hasn’t tweeted in almost a month -- unusual for him. He did not tweet congratulations to Shanahan for his extension or acknowledge it in any way. And Lynch has not addressed Deebo Samuel’s broken foot, Richie James Jr.’s broken wrist or the unnamed 49ers player who has Covid.

A general manager should talk about those things.

But the 49ers have not made Lynch available to the media since the draft. I hope I’m wrong, but it sure looks like they’re phasing him out. York can clear up this confusion right now by making a two-sentence statement. Or even a one-sentence statement.

Say something, Jed.