SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- One year and three days ago, San Francisco 49ers general manager John Lynch was preparing to work as a broadcaster for the NFC divisional playoff game between the Seattle Seahawks and the Atlanta Falcons, then led by offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan.

Little did anyone -- Lynch included -- know at the time that Lynch and Shanahan would soon be joined at the hip as general manager and head coach of the 49ers. But as the Niners zeroed in on Shanahan for his job and he and Lynch discussed the general manager opening, things began moving fast.

Within a month, 49ers CEO Jed York had hired both to fill the two most important positions in his football operation. Because Shanahan's Falcons had advanced all the way to the Super Bowl, the hirings couldn't become official until February. Suffice to say, there was little time for them to collect their thoughts before wading into the deep end of the NFL's offseason. Instead, they dived in head first and figured it out as they went along.

Much has changed in the time since, most of it for the better. With Lynch and Shanahan on the same page after a season spent getting a better understanding of their roster needs and the franchise-altering acquisition of quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, the 49ers head toward this offseason far better equipped in terms of time, resources and knowledge to execute the remaining fixes to make the 49ers a contender again.

"Kyle and I came in here to do this thing together, with a great deal of collaboration," Lynch said. "There’s constant communication, but he’s also getting the team ready. We’ll be having a ton of conversations. We have a good idea of where we want to go and how we want to do it.

"We’ve got a lot of resources both in terms of cap money, but also in terms of draft capital, in terms of draft choices. We have a great opportunity. Again, that opportunity is only what you make of it. And so, one thing we learned, didn’t learn, but you just know, last year we studied all these great players, most of those guys get taken care of, either franchise tagged or whatever. We’ll continue to study and continue to try to improve. We’ll have a plan that’s complete and thorough and well thought out.”

The simple act of having Lynch and Shanahan in place is a step forward for a franchise in which the only constant in recent years has been change. From the time Jim Harbaugh departed after the 2014 season, the Niners hired and fired head coaches Jim Tomsula and Chip Kelly. They also fired general manager Trent Baalke.

With each passing season, York found himself spending his Januarys looking for the person or people to resurrect his once-proud franchise. Finally, last offseason, York realized it was time for a clean slate and the need to find a coach and general manager who would could work together in harmony.

Lynch and Shanahan were on the same page right away, but when the Niners started the season 0-9, it was fair to wonder if finger pointing or at least mild grumbling would ensue. Instead, Lynch and Shanahan learned that their belief in one another was justified.

"I learned that John was who I always thought he was," Shanahan said. "I knew John before I got here and stuff, but like I’ll say a lot, you don’t know people until you go through things with them, especially when you go through adversity. Starting 0-9 here was tough. Especially being a first-year head coach, going through that, coming into a building every day, knowing how hard everyone is working and coming up just short each week. I think one of the things that helped me get through that time was how John handled it every day, how Jed handled it every day. They never seemed to lose confidence. I think I can stay pretty confident if I know people around me are confident in me. It was pretty cool to have them around where they didn’t waver, they acted like the same people I’ve always seen and made me respect them all a lot more.”

For Lynch, the adversity of the team's winless start allowed him to see Shanahan's chops as a leader and not just an X's and O's whiz.

"I knew the offensive acumen and the mind that I thought was unique and special in Kyle," Lynch said. "What I had never seen in him is him in front of a team, and how he could capture a team and lead a team, which is a big part of being a head coach. I couldn’t be more impressed.

"We faced adversity on numerous occasions. The steady hand with which he handled it, it’s a gift to be able to adhere to the expectations we set, but also keep a team encouraged and keep a team up and also let them know that even sometimes in a losing effort that we appreciated the way they went about their business. Also, I think what we learned is what we thought. We complement each other well. The communication that we had during the course of the year is crucial and integral. We’ve got to stick to that moving forward in the future and plan on doing that.”

That communication will be particularly important this offseason as the Niners have some important pieces of business to handle. If the 49ers can sign Garoppolo, turn more than $100 million in cap space into some key additions and wisely utilize their nine picks in the NFL draft, it's not out of the question that a once tedious-looking rebuild might turn into a swift one.

Which is why, although it's nice to have some stability and a bit more time to prepare, Lynch and Shanahan don't intend to wait around to begin making plans to help the 49ers take the next step in 2018.

“We can’t get lulled into, ‘Hey, we’ve got this,’" Lynch said. "We’ve got to put the pedal to the metal and continue to work vigorously, which we will. Last year it was survival. We had to go and we had to go and we had to go. We’ve got to keep that mindset, but definitely we’re much further along and in a much better place.”