Insider doesn't think 49ers will ever fire John Lynch, Kyle Shanahan
It might be hard for the 49ers to move on from two of the most stabilizing men in the franchise's history.
The brain trust running the San Francisco 49ers isn't going anywhere — at least that's the word from one of the league's most plugged-in reporters. NFL Network insider Tom Pelissero recently noted on The Rich Eisen Show that, even if the 49ers' 2026 draft class doesn't perform well, neither general manager John Lynch nor head coach Kyle Shanahan is in any danger of losing their jobs. "I don't see a world where John Lynch ever gets fired by the 49ers.
Same thing with Kyle Shanahan," Pelissero said. "They have stabilized that franchise ... The 49ers are competitive year after year.
They certainly, I think it's fair to say, have supplemented a lot through trades and at times free agency because they've had some misses in the draft. " Pelissero explained that the post-Jim Harbaugh era produced some forgettable names like Jim Tomsula and Chip Kelly that led nowhere following the success of the early-2010s. Lynch and Shanahan arrived in 2017 and steadily rebuilt the organization into a perennial contender.
Since 2019, San Francisco has made four NFC Championship game appearances, reached the Super Bowl twice, and become one of the most consistently competitive teams in football. And yet, the elephant in the room remains. For all the winning culture they've built, a Lombardi Trophy has eluded them.