Despite the 49ers' recent success, their head coach/general manager combo could find themselves on a much warmer seat if the 2025 season goes a certain way.
This 2025 Scenario Could Land 49ers' Kyle Shanahan, John Lynch On Hot Seat originally appeared on Athlon Sports.
Outside of a couple outlier seasons marred by injuries, life has been pretty good for the San Francisco 49ers under head coach Kyle Shanahan and general manager John Lynch.
The Niners have made four trips to the NFC title game, appearing in two Super Bowls and averaging 10 wins per year over the past six seasons.
But the ultimate prize has still eluded them, as the 49ers have fallen short in both of their Super Bowl trips, and the challenge of getting back to that level of title contention just got more difficult this offseason.
The 49ers signed quarterback Brock Purdy to a massive contract extension that will average $53 million per year, and the defense lost a host of key veterans to free agency. If the best football of this current regime is behind it, is it possible Shanahan and Lynch could be on the hot seat sooner than later?
On the latest episode of "Best Podcast Available," I sat down with 49ers expert Kyle Madson to talk about the possibility, but he's confident the team's ownership isn't in any hurry to give up on the current brass.
"I don't think Jed York wants to go through another coaching search," Madson said. "They botched the Jim Harbaugh thing as badly as they did, and then they bring in Jim Tomsula, a disaster. Then they bring in Chip Kelly, a disaster. Kyle Shanahan was their fourth coach in four years when he got hired in 2017."
While the team has failed to bring home another Lombardi Trophy to add to an already impressive collection, Madson says the consistent success the 49ers have had under Shanahan and Lynch is still extremely valuable to ownership.
"The stability they've been able to find under Shanahan and Lynch is, I think, something Jed York values a lot," Madson said. "Last year, they go 6-11. You can blame injuries, you can blame roster construction, whatever it is. So, if they bounce back and go 10-7 this year, you feel like you're in a good spot moving forward."
Madson says there's a big difference between what's happened with the 49ers under the current regime, and other scenarios that have forced other teams to make changes despite some measure of consistent success that just wasn't enough.
"I think about where the Bengals got with Marvin Lewis," Madson said. "Where it's like five years in a row of first-round exits, and it's like, 'All right, we've gotta do something different.' The Niners have been to Super Bowls, they've been a play or two away from going to two other Super Bowls, a play or two away from winning a couple. They've been right there on the doorstep, so I think Kyle Shanahan and John Lynch are gonna get a pretty long leash."
But Madson does see a scenario in which the seat could start to get hot for both head coach and GM if 2025 doesn't go the right way, thanks to a handful of factors they have leaning their direction.
Related: Can the 49ers Salvage Their Super Bowl Window?
"That said, they have so many advantages going into this year," Madson said. "From just a roster standpoint, I think it's still good. The early returns on the rookie class, and granted, it's still early, but they're really strong. They play the AFC South, the NFC South, and then they have a last-place schedule."
"So, if they're going 7-10 this year, in any circumstance, that's where I think the seat starts to heat up," Madson continued. "Like, 'Okay, this little on-the-fly rebuild isn't heading the right direction,' next year might be the kind of do-or-die year. But for now, going into this year, I don' think there's any heat on Shanahan and Lynch."
To check out the entire conversation, watch the full episode of BPA here:
This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Aug 12, 2025, where it first appeared.
Category: Football
