The San Francisco 49ers\u2019 owner has changed quite a bit since hiring Kyle Shanahan and John Lynch.<\/p>\n
During the NFL Annual League Meeting<\/a>, York made time for the media and mentioned having seen an interview between NBC Sports Bay Area\u2019s Jennifer Lee Chan and 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan.<\/p>\n \u201cWhy the hell is he [Shanahan] talking about Christian Kirk?\u201d York said. \u201cI mean, is this tampering? I had no idea that we signed Christian Kirk.\u201d<\/p>\n That\u2019s right, Jed York, the man who writes the paychecks for Kyle Shanahan and John Lynch, never got the memo that those two signed the wide receiver in free agency. York went on to explain the trust he had in the 49ers\u2019 front office with these decisions.<\/p>\n \u201cI can\u2019t spend 100 percent of my time on the 49ers,\u201d York said, listing other endeavors such as the Leeds United Football Club that he is involved with.<\/p>\n This is a much different Jed York than the 2014-2016 era. The issue with York during the Jim Harbaugh years was his meddling<\/a>. Lots and lots of meddling. After Harbaugh and the 49ers \u201cmutually parted ways\u201d, in came Jim Tomsula, followed by Chip Kelly. Kyle Shanahan was the third coach after Harbaugh in just as many years and he\u2019s now one of the longest tenured in the league.<\/p>\n That was the concern: could York let Lynch and Shanahan run the football team and stay out of the way? Harbaugh, Tomsula, and Kelly all had York\u2019s fingerprints. Well, if the above is any indication, that\u2019s pretty much what he\u2019s doing.<\/p>\n And naturally, a response like that has some saying York\u2019s involvement, or lack thereof, is unbecoming of an NFL owner. You can identify who has been following this team for a while based on their reactions to York\u2019s latest interview. Those who remember when York was much more hands-on with the operation are probably happy to hear he\u2019s ceding control to his football people. Perhaps those who weren\u2019t here during the dark times are wondering why an owner isn\u2019t as fully committed as other owners, such as Jerry Jones. Or maybe they have short memories.<\/p>\n Hey, it\u2019s a good point, but let\u2019s be honest: Jed York should not be 100 percent involved with his football team, period. We\u2019ve seen what that leads to. This is a guy who <\/a>frustrated fans combined their money to fly banners over Levi\u2019s Stadium asking for his dismissal. A sale might not happen, but 49ers Enterprises keeping him busy with other projects is the next best thing.<\/p>\n