MOBILE, Ala. -- In an effort to solve one of the issues the franchise determined could be vastly improved, 49ers general manager John Lynch reached out to the NBA's most successful franchise.
Lynch said on Thursday that he spoke with Warriors head coach Steve Kerr and general manager Bob Myers on the topic of how the NBA champions mesh their athletic trainers with the strength-and-conditioning department.
The Warriors in August added Rick Celebrini as director of sports medicine and performance to oversee the department that includes head athletic trainer Drew Yoder. The club also hired Carl Bergstrom as performance coach.
"We talked about them having similar motivations," Lynch said. "They made a hire that they're very excited about."
The 49ers have been plagued by injuries the past two seasons with 37 players finishing the season on injured reserve. Shortly after the season, the 49ers fired head athletic trainer Jeff Ferguson and head strength and conditioning coach Ray Wright as part of a larger restructuring.
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"You get all these talented people and practitioners, but how do you get everyone towing in the same direction, just like how you want every part of your football organization to be?" Lynch said.
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"We consulted with some other teams, organizations in some other sports, looking for the right answers, and trying to put our own stamp on it. We're not trying to re-invent the wheel. We're just trying to get that deal right. We've been very impressed with the people that we've interviewed and we're hoping to move on this fairly soon and get it going."
Lynch said the 49ers interviewed eight candidates for the job and will likely conduct follow-up interviews with a couple of the individuals before making a hire after the Super Bowl. Coach Kyle Shanahan earlier this week described the position the 49ers are creating as a "head coach of training."
"That idea, that head coach of training, that's really what we're looking for, someone who can pull everyone together and get everyone focused in the same direction," Lynch said.
