49ers hire Gore to front office as football adviser

SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- The San Francisco 49ers had a familiar face at practice Thursday and Friday, but Frank Gore, the franchise's all-time leading rusher, isn't just visiting.

Gore has officially rejoined the NFL team where he made his name as a player, signing with the 49ers front office as football advisor. He posted a picture of the deal being signed Friday on Instagram.

Gore has been around the team since the spring, learning the ropes on the personnel side. In his new role, Gore will be working with general manager John Lynch, assistant general manager Adam Peters and their staff on player evaluation.

It's a move that has been a few months in the making for Gore.

Just before the NFL draft in April, Lynch said Gore sat in on pre-draft meetings, taking notes on how the process plays out.

"Frank showed an interest in coming in here and, like I said, somebody made that opportunity available to me years ago, and I was really grateful for it," Lynch said then. "If someone's willing to put the time in and is, given as much as he has to the organization, then absolutely we're going to open our arms. ... I think he learned a lot through the process."

The 49ers originally selected Gore in the third round of the 2005 NFL draft. He went on to amass 11,073 rushing yards, the most in Niners history, made five Pro Bowls in his 10 seasons with the team and landed on the NFL's All-Decade team for the 2010s. He went on to play for the Indianapolis Colts, Miami Dolphins, Buffalo Bills and New York Jets before signing a one-day contract with the Niners to retire on June 2, 2022.

For his career, Gore rushed for 16,000 yards (third all-time in NFL history) and 81 touchdowns (tied for 19th). He holds the NFL record for most games played by a running back with 241.

Gore has long wanted to work on the personnel side and told the "SFNiners" podcast in April 2022 that it was a matter of when, not if, that would happen in San Francisco.

"I love evaluating talent and I love ball," Gore told the podcast. "And they know that I know football players (and) what it's supposed to take to be a football player."