Peters staying with 49ers after Panthers hire another as GM

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With Robert Saleh agreeing to become the Jets’ new head coach, will Kyle Shannahan look to promote from within and hire DeMeco Ryans as his new defensive coordinator?

The 49ers experienced their first high-level departure of the offseason on Thursday when ex-defensive coordinator Robert Saleh agreed to become the head coach of the New York Jets, reportedly getting a five-year contract.

But it appears that John Lynch’s right-hand man, Adam Peters, will be staying put for now. Peters interviewed twice for the Carolina Panthers' general manager job, but the franchise announced the hiring of Scott Fitterer on Thursday.

Peters, the 49ers vice president of player personnel, was reportedly among the final four candidates for the Panthers gig along with Fitterer, the Kansas City Chiefs’ Ryan Poles and the Tennessee Titans' Monti Ossenfort. The 38-year-old Peters is viewed as a rising star within NFL front office ranks. Peters spent 2009-16 in the Denver Broncos’ organization before joining the 49ers during the Kyle Shanahan-Lynch overhaul.

Despite the 6-10 finish in 2020, San Francisco is trying to keep the band together. Chalk up the poor record to a rash of top-level injuries and a contact sports ban in Santa Clara Country that forced the team to relocate to Arizona. 

RELATED: Ryans expected to replace Saleh as 49ers DC

With a shrinking salary cap and lots of heavy decisions to make -- ahem, quarterback -- Lynch could use all the trusted insight he can get. The 2021 season will mark Year 5 of the Shanahan-Lynch era, with the goal obviously to return to the Super Bowl. 

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Peters might be here for now, but could be running his own team down the road. For now, the 49ers should be happy to keep a talented person with deep knowledge of their team on the staff heading into such a big offseason.

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