SANTA CLARA — Adam Peters, John Lynch’s right-hand man in the 49ers’ personnel office since 2017, will leave his native Bay Area to lead the Washington Commanders’ football operations, according to multiple reports.
The hiring, first reported by ESPN, comes three years after Washington poached the 49ers’ front office to hire Martin Mayhew as general manager.
Under new Washington owner Josh Harris, Peters will take over a last-place roster that needs a new coach after Sunday’s firing of Ron Rivera after four seasons. Peters and Chicago Bears assistant general manager Ian Cunningham conducted second interviews Thursday in the Commanders’ search process, which is being helped run by former Golden State Warriors general manager Bob Myers.
Peters figured to eventually succeed Lynch as the 49ers’ general manager. However, Lynch and Shanahan both signed contract extensions prior to this season, believed to commit them through at least 2027. In-house candidates to replace Peters could be Tariq Ahmad (director of college scouting) and RJ Gillen (director of pro personnel).
Among the coaching candidates Peters and the Commanders might consider is Steve Wilks, the 49ers’ defensive coordinator who has drawn interview requests from the Los Angeles Chargers and the Atlanta Falcons. Peters also has ties to Bill Belichick from working as a New England Patriots scout from 2003-08, while other names to watch are Brian Flores (Minnesota Vikings defensive coordinator) and Bobby Slowik (Houston Texans offensive coordinator).
Peters has been a hot candidate the past few years for general manager vacancies elsewhere. He joined the 49ers in 2017 when Lynch got hired as general manager, and the pair were instrumental in building a championship-caliber roster for coach Kyle Shanahan. Peters was a finalist for the GM posts with the Carolina Panthers in 2021 and the New York Giants in 2022; he declined interview requests last year from the Arizona Cardinals and Tennessee Titans.
Peters’ title changed from vice president of player personnel to assistant general manager three years ago. He was born in Mountain View and attended Monta Vista High-Cupertino before going on to play tight end at West Valley College and UCLA.
The Commanders just concluded a 4-13 season with an eight-game losing streak. They have the No. 2 overall pick in this year’s draft, a spot they had in 2020 when they selected defensive end Chase Young, whom they traded to the 49ers three months ago.
Source: www.mercurynews.com