49ers’ John Lynch enjoying ‘real special weekend’ at Pro Football Hall of Fame
John Lynch is away from the 49ers on assignment, if you will. His long-awaited entry to the Pro Football Hall of Fame is underway.
Lynch is in Canton, Ohio ahead of Sunday’s formal enshrinement. That will cap a four-day detour from 49ers training camp in Santa Clara.
“It’s a lot of fun. I feel like I’m playing hooky right now being here this weekend,” Lynch said during a cameo in Fox’s broadcast boost at Thursday night’s Hall of Fame game between Dallas and Pittsburgh.
“But everybody encouraged me to come and enjoy this, so I’m going to do it,” Lynch added. “It’s such an honor.”
Lynch didn’t exactly escape the growing buzz of a 49ers quarterback competition. Fox broadcasters Troy Aikman and Joe Buck hit up Lynch on this camp’s hot topic.
“Jimmy’s a great kid, a great competitor, and competitors rise the occasion when they’re challenged,” Lynch responded. “We brought Trey Lance in, and what’s gone on, Jimmy is playing his best ball since he’s been with us, and Trey’s been outstanding.
“So we’ve got a good situation right now and we’ll just let it play out. We feel very fortunate to have both in our building.”
Congratulations to #49ers general manager @JohnLynch49ers on this weekend’s induction to the @ProFootballHOF.
He will be presented Sunday by his son, Jake, and @HermEdwards#JohnLynch #HOF #47 #TorreyPines #Stanford #Erie #Canton https://t.co/LZGArhpmyZ— Cam Inman (@CamInman) August 6, 2021
Before Lynch left 49ers training camp, all coaches and staff surprised him by wearing T-shirts commemorating his Hall of Fame induction, complete with his name and number (47) on the back of the black T-shirt.
“I think he felt just tremendous gratitude and a little bashful,” offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel said. “He not a look at me guy and there’s a lot of people wearing his name (Wednesday).”
Lynch began his 15-year NFL career as a 1993 draft pick out of Stanford by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (third round). Once a Cardinal quarterback and a minor-league pitcher (he threw the first pitch in the then-Miami Marlins organization history for the Erie Sailors), Lynch evolved into a hard-hitting, quick-thinking safety.
Lynch’s tenure with the Buccaneers (1993-2003) and Denver Broncos (2004-07) earned him a spot in both franchise’s ring of honors, even ahead of ex-Broncos coach Mike Shanahan, who won back-to-back Super Bowls for Denver and coached Lynch.
Kyle Shanahan, Mike’s son, handpicked Lynch as his general manager in 2017 when the 49ers hired the younger Shanahan as coach. Kyle Shanahan is expected to fly to Canton for Lynch’s festivities after the 49ers’ practice Saturday morning at Levi’s Stadium.
“John’s Captain America. He’s the best Samaritan alive,” Kyle Shanahan said Wednesday. “But when he gets on that football field, I don’t think he’s as nice of a guy as he is off.”
Count on Mr. Nice Guy showing up in Canton all weekend.
“You try to prepare yourself but you can’t,” Lynch added. “It’s been a real special weekend already and I can’t wait for what’s to come.
“You try to prepare yourself but you can’t. It’s been a real special weekend already and I can’t wait for what’s to come.”
Presenting him during Sunday’s enshrinement ceremony will be his son, Jake, (currently a Stanford linebacker) and Herm Edwards (Lynch’s former Buccaneers position coach and now Arizona State’s head coach). Because both are in their own training camps, John Lynch does not anticipate seeing them until Sunday’s ceremony.
A year ago, the 49ers signed Lynch to a five-year extension that runs through 2024. Lynch noted that the 49ers have a “legitimate chance” to contend if good fortune finally comes their way, after injuries and losses marred three of the previous four seasons.
Lynch said of Shanahan: “He’s been awesome from Day 1. It’s time for that to transfer onto the field in a consistent manner with wins.”
Lynch is winning big this weekend, to the delight of his current team.
“John is an unbelievable human being and there’s not too many Hall of Famers that you even have the chance to know,” McDaniel said. “I think all the players and coaches alike really feel that way.”