Report: ‘Friction’ building between 49ers GM John Lynch, coach Kyle Shanahan

The San Francisco 49ers made an easy decision when they got the consensus best defensive player in the NFL Draft last week, but agreeing to pick Joey Bosa at No. 2 may have been a rare example of the team’s front office all being on the same page.

According to Matt Miller of Bleacher Report, a power struggle may be brewing with the 49ers’ brass. Miller was told by sources that friction exists between Niners head coach Kyle Shanahan and general manager John Lynch, and the two may not be able to coexist for much longer. Shanahan apparently wants to focus on scheming and developing players without dabbling in the evaluation process, but does not completely trust Lynch’s decision-making.

Both Lynch and Shanahan have contracts with four years remaining on them, and Miller seems to think the coach would win out in any potential power struggle.

With four years left and a team that’s been stuck in neutral ever since, a power struggle could be coming with Lynch and chief deputy Adam Peters on the outs, and Shanahan looking for his own personnel man to run the draft and free agency.

All appeared to be well in San Francisco when the 49ers traded for Jimmy Garoppolo and signed him to a massive contract, but it sounds like they desperately need a winning season to keep everyone happy. We recently got a reminder of how close the Shanahan family is with the Niners organization, so it isn’t all that surprising that they might end up siding with their coach over their general manager.