Troy Aikman turned a few heads this week by showering San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan with praise. NFL analyst Mike Florio thinks that admiration could eventually lead to a partnership between the two.

The Pro Football Talk analyst floated a scenario in which Aikman joins San Francisco’s front office if John Lynch returns to broadcasting.

It isn’t a far-fetched idea per se, since Aikman has already said he could see himself working in a front office or general manager role down the road.

Mike Florio Sees Path for Troy Aikman To Join Kyle Shanahan

Florio’s argument followed Aikman naming Shanahan as his preferred coaching target if he ever ran an NFL team. During an appearance on “The Ticket in Dallas,” Aikman said, “First call I’d make is to the 49ers and say, ‘How much is it going to take to get Kyle Shanahan?’ Because I think he’s that good.”

Florio wondered whether Aikman could ever make that call for the Dallas Cowboys, where he has been heavily linked to a front-office job. It’s a possibility, but the analyst doubted that owner Jerry Jones would be willing to open the checkbook for Shanahan.

“I have a feeling that Jerry Jones will not make the financial investment necessary to hire Kyle Shanahan, much less the draft pick investment,”Florio said on “Pro Football Talk.” “But it could be that there’s an Aikman-Shanahan pairing somewhere.”

Florio then named the condition that could create an opening in San Francisco.

“If John Lynch would leave to go back to broadcasting. And I don’t know what the chance of that happening is, but based on some things I’ve heard over the years, I’d say it’s a non-zero percent chance.”

“Maybe Shanahan could hire Aikman to be the GM of the 49ers,” he continued. “Maybe that’s why Aikman’s saying all that, not so that he could someday hire Kyle Shanahan, but so that Shanahan may hire him.”

John Lynch’s Broadcasting Background Gives the Scenario Some Context

Lynch would be returning to familiar work if he ever chose television again. He was a Fox Sports analyst from 2009 through 2016 before joining the 49ers in 2017, and he finished his broadcasting stint alongside Kevin Burkhardt on the network’s No. 2 crew.

Amazon even approached Lynch in early 2022 about joining its “Thursday Night Football” broadcast booth, but he declined.

Lynch’s own career offers a precedent for a prominent former player moving from the booth to San Francisco’s front office. The 49ers hired him after eight seasons in television, and he now serves as president of football operations and general manager.

Whether that path leads to Aikman is speculation, but it’s easy to see why the former quarterback would be drawn to San Francisco.

Under Shanahan, the 49ers rank No. 2 with a PFN Offense Impact Score of 86.7 and have been a contender year after year. It’s hard to think of a better situation.