The 49ers made peace with the team’s Hall of Famers when John Lynch took over as General Manager, inviting the alums back to serve as mentors. Jerry Rice and Steve Young, whose photos hang all over the facility, attended Monday’s practice and spoke at the team meeting.
Lynch, who inherited a 2-14 team, hopes to change the culture by bridging the past to the present.
“When you are talking about the culture, and you have those guys here that won Super Bowls -- that knew what it took,” safety Eric Reid said, via Eric Branch of the San Francisco Chronicle. “It’s the vibe. It’s all about the vibe. When you walk in the building and you see those faces and, you’re like ‘Man, that’s greatness right there.’ And you ask them how they did it, and they can give you little nuggets.”
Young shared that he made sure he received the game plan a day early so he had extra time to prepare.
“So now,” Reid said, “I want to do that with my coach.”
Rice participated in warmups and individual drills with players before running shadow routes in team drills.