John Lynch’s wife tipped ASU coach before 49ers drafted Brandon Aiyuk
Apr 27, 2020, 8:53 AM
Head Coach Herm Edwards of Arizona State stands on the sideline with General Manager John Lynch of the San Francisco 49ers prior to the game between the 49ers and the Green Bay Packers at Levi's Stadium on January 19, 2020 in Santa Clara, California. (Photo by Michael Zagaris/San Francisco 49ers/Getty Images)
(Photo by Michael Zagaris/San Francisco 49ers/Getty Images)
Herm Edwards sensed something was up with the San Francisco 49ers in the heart of the 2020 NFL Draft’s first round.
The Arizona State head coach, waiting to see if Sun Devils receiver Brandon Aiyuk might get picked on Day 1 last Thursday, knew that the Niners were interested. Still, where would they take Aiyuk, who was projected as a borderline first-round pick?
San Francisco had already drafted South Carolina defensive tackle Javon Kinlaw 13th, and from there it was hard to see if Aiyuk would fall to the 49ers’ next pick at 31st overall.
Somewhere around the 20th pick, Edwards’ home phone rang.
One of the quirks to the all-remote NFL Draft was about to show up.
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“… All of a sudden I’m sitting at the couch watching the draft and the phone rings and it’s (49ers GM John Lynch’s wife) Linda Lynch and she’s talking to my wife,” Edwards said. “And I’m like, ‘OK, this is interesting.’ My wife says, ‘Yeah, he’s a really good kid,’ and all this … So she hangs up the phone and says, ‘That was Linda.’
“All of a sudden I turn around, and I get a text, and they traded. I said, ‘Uh, oh! Uh, oh! This might be it.”
It was.
The Niners sent the Nos. 31, 117 and 176 picks to the Minnesota Vikings and moved up six spots, where they drafted Aiyuk, who as a senior made 65 receptions for 1,192 yards and eight touchdowns.
Edwards and his family have a special relationship with John Lynch and his family.
The Edwardses are godparents to the Lynchs’ daughter, while the Lynchs are godparents to the Edwardses’ son.
Edwards got tipped all because of the remote NFL Draft setting, where a GM like Lynch was working with his family in ear-shot.
Lynch played under Edwards during the latter’s stint as Tampa Bay Buccaneers assistant head coach and defensive backs coach from 1996-2000.
The unique circumstances made the experience for the Arizona State head coach just a little more exciting.
Edwards found the tip funny, but it wasn’t surprising to him.
“Conversation started a couple days prior to the draft,” Edwards said of the 49ers’ interest in Aiyuk, before adding, “(I was) just wondering when they could get him. I knew at 13 it was gonna be too high, probably.”
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