49ers in Five: John Lynch addresses the rumors about a return to television

“My commitment right now is to this organization”

Despite being just days removed from elimination at the hands of the Rams, the 49ers seem to be a hotbed of news already this offseason. While Jimmy Garoppolo is always a topic of conversation in these parts, GM John Lynch became the subject of rumors that he could be leaving San Francisco to return to the broadcast booth.

CBS Sports NFL Analyst Boomer Esiason caused a bit of a stir when he said this on WEEI recently.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if John goes back into television anytime soon. He’s had a really good run there and has a lot of quality front office people. I think he may be tired of doing what he’s doing, too. That’s something to watch in the offseason as well.”

During yesterday’s end of the year press conference, Lynch responded to those rumors.

“I have not heard that rumor. From time to time, opportunities are presented, and I can tell you and tell everyone that my commitment right now is to this organization. We’re just coming off a season, but my commitment is to the 49ers, the York family, to Kyle [Shanahan]…I feel like it’s a real blessing to be part of this organization, so my commitment is right here, and that’s where I’ll be.”

A Super Bowl appearance and another NFC title game appearance in five years is a pretty darn good resume for any GM. The 49ers could also be poised for more in the years to come, but that doesn’t preclude Esiason from being correct.

I would imagine those opportunities Lynch is presented with looked pretty tempting at times. Tony Romo makes around a million dollars per game at CBS. Troy Aikman is currently negotiating with Fox and Amazon and will likely wind up making somewhere in the ballpark. Not to mention the fact that life in the NFL is high-stress and low sleep. It would be hard to blame anyone who took the chance to make millions of dollars without having to endure that lifestyle.

While the words “right now” in Lynch’s response shouldn’t fill anyone with a ton of confidence, it looks as if the trio of Kyle Shanahan, John Lynch, and DeMeco Ryans are going to be able to make at least one more run at the Super Bowl in 2022.

You can hear that and the best comments from Kyle Shanahan and John Lynch’s exit interview yesterday on the 49ers in Five podcast. It’s everything you need to know in five minutes and is available everywhere you get your podcasts.