The 49ers must nail the offseason.
After a frustrating, playoff-less 2024 NFL season, San Francisco enters what truly is a do-or-die offseason under coach Kyle Shanahan and president of football operations and general manager John Lynch.
In the latest “Hitner’s Hot Take” segment, NBC Sports Bay Area’s Donte Whitner explained why the 49ers face their most critical offseason under their sturdy coach-exec duo.
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“This is the most critical offseason for Kyle Shanahan and John Lynch,” Whitner said. “They must revitalize [and] revamp this roster through the draft and free agency, or next year they will be sitting at home during playoff time again.”
Whitner can say that again.
Many were stunned by the 49ers finishing 6-11 and last in the NFC West, considering the team was a season removed from a Super Bowl LVIII overtime loss to the dynastic Kansas City Chiefs, and that San Francisco’s ugly season was unacceptable given the team’s big names and contracts that all tied into their quest for a sixth Vince Lombardi Trophy.
The 49ers’ season was ugly, as the injuries and personal tragedies played a big role in San Francisco's struggles on the field. But with the end of a season comes opportunity. And Whitner knows the 49ers must be perfect leading up to next season.
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“Thank God the 49ers season is over,” Whitner said. “What a horrendous season by the 49ers, who had championship aspirations. One thing that they learned this year was that success is rented and it’s never owned. We waited all season long for the 49ers to flip the switch, to go into that accustomed championship mode, run off a number of wins in a row, and it never happened. They ran out of gas. They had no juice. They had no depth. …
Indeed, success is never owned and rent is due every day, as motivators say.
As Whitner said, San Francisco and its faithful fans constantly waited for the 49ers to find that extra gear. And, despite Shanahan and Lynch’s routine optimism, it just never happened.
Now, the 49ers have to win wherever possible this offseason, and their first chance to do so will be NFL free agency, which begins March 12, before they're on the clock with the No. 11 pick in the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft on April 24.