The San Francisco 49ers decision to hire John Lynch as their next general manager has generated numerous comparisons. Some point to the success of former players like John Elway and Ozzie Newsome. Others point to Matt Millen’s failure in Detroit.
From a pure fact-based perspective, the Millen comparison is the most apt. Both were great defensive players who went into broadcasting shortly after their careers ended. Both left broadcasting to take on an executive role with a team. Millen started as Lions president and CEO, and eventually became GM when he fired Bill Tobin.