With a brand-new general manager learning the NFL's business side, the San Francisco 49ers will have to figure out how their first-time head coach will split his time with John Lynch this offseason.
On Friday, that first-time coach, Kyle Shanahan, gave a window into what both are up to at the moment.
"We're watching a lot of film, which, we're doing a lot together and a lot separate," Shanahan told KNBR on Friday. "John and the whole personnel department are going through the draft stuff right now. Which, me and the coaches aren't yet at the draft. We're watching our own players and free agents. We'll get to the draft really starting in Indy..."
Shanahan, who added that he's also overseeing new defensive coordinator Robert Saleh's installation of the Seattle Seahawks' defensive system, has a lot on his plate but does not seemed overwhelmed by the burden.
Had Shanahan's father, Mike, not been in the business for so many years, there might have been concern about thrusting a 37-year-old into the spotlight. At least the far younger Sean McVay has defensive coordinator Wade Phillips, and a tenured general manager like Les Snead to lean on. Last month, I wrote a piece about the white-knuckle period that encounters a first-time head coach after he's hired. On top of assembling a staff, preparing free agent lists and polishing off the playbook, you have to decide who you are as a leader.
For now, the transition seems to have gone as smooth as possible, with both Lynch and Shanahan assuming fairly standard roles. The key will be whether or not they emerge in Indianapolis at the combine on the same page.
