The San Francisco 49ers have stumbled after a second Super Bowl loss in five seasons, leading some to Kyle Shanahan's future with the club.
On Friday morning on KNBR, general manager John Lynch laughed at the idea that Shanahan is on the hot seat.
"I've found the ," Lynch said. "We have won four of the last five division championships. We've been to two Super Bowls. The standard here is to win championships, and we've fallen short of that, I understand. But we have an excellent head coach, and the fact that people are talking about stuff like that, I do find it comical. We're 100% behind Kyle and what he brings to our organization. Like I said, our focus is really on the Bears and doing everything we can. That's where Kyle's focus is, and that's where all our focus is."
The Niners sit at 5-7, two games back in the NFC West with five to play.
Injuries have decimated San Francisco, with star running back Christian McCaffrey's double-stint on injured reserve underscoring the brutal string of injuries.
Earlier in the week, Shanahan admitted that, for a variety of reasons, the 2023 club was "obviously a better team" than the 2024 iteration. Lynch was asked about the coach's comment.
"I think really what he's meaning to say is we haven't earned the right to be called as good," the GM said. "You are what your record says you are in this league, and that isn't very good. So I think we've been through a lot as a team, this current team with a lot of stuff that has happened to members of our organization. Injuries, tragic circumstances, ultimately those are just excuses. One thing I can tell you is I'm proud of how this group has stuck together, had each other's back. The other thing I can tell you is the story's not written yet. We're still grinding, and we're still playing."
San Francisco is currently 11th in the NFC and last in the NFC West, heading into Sunday's game against the 4-8 Chicago Bears. Next Gen Stats puts the Niners' playoff probability at 10 percent with a five percent chance to win the division.
The last time the 49ers missed the playoffs was in 2020 when they went 6-10 -- the season after San Francisco lost to Patrick Mahomes in the Super Bowl the first time. After that injury-plagued campaign, they've been to each of the past three NFC Championship Games.
If the Niners decided to move on from Shanahan, every team with an opening would try to hire him -- an indicator that it would be folly to fire the coach. The best move for San Francisco is to weather the storm, reboot for 2025 -- not trade away a bunch of draft picks this time -- and come back with ferocity next season while playing a softer schedule.
