New 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan made it clear during his introductory press conference on Thursday that he has little interest in defining how exactly the personnel power is divided between him and new general manager John Lynch.
Lynch revealed that he will have control of the 90-man offseason roster, free agency and the draft, while Shanahan will have final say on the 53-man roster. Lynch then mentioned that everything is “subject to approval of the other guy,” making the pairing sound more like a true partnership, rather than a delegation of power.
Shanahan seemed to reiterate that stance when asked why he didn’t demand more power upon signing his contract. Shanahan did, however, detail why he wanted control of the 53-man roster, expressing the importance of his players knowing that there is a mutual responsibility when it comes to the team’s performance on the field.
“I don’t want to demand all of it,” Shanahan said. “What’s important to you? I’ve always thought none of it matters if you’re working with the right guy. So it’s what do you want to put down on paper?”
“I don’t need all that down on paper. It was important for me to have the 53 on paper because I think it’s important that the players know that the coaching staff is ultimately going to be responsible for that.”
49ers linebacker Navarro Bowman said he liked the idea of the coaching staff having final say on the 53-man roster.
“For them to have control of the 53 I don’t think it’s a bad idea at all,” Bowman said. “I think it’ll be probably the first time you get it from a player’s mindset and I don’t think it’ll be a negative.”
Veteran wide receiver Torrey Smith on the other hand, couldn’t care less who is calling the shots.
“I don’t really care, I’m a player man,” Smith chuckled. “Y’all keeping me or you’re not. Doesn’t matter if the GM’s doing that or the coach it’s kind’ve the same thing so I think that’s more of an up top decision and as players it’s your job to try to be one of the best to make that 53.”
