49ers sign ex-RB Frank Gore to team's personnel department

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 in the "football advisor category." He posted a picture of the deal being signed on Instagram.

Gore has been around the team since the spring, learning the ropes on the personnel side. In his new role, he 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.

"He'll go out on the road with some of our road scouts to make school calls," Lynch said Saturday in a statement. "He is a smart football mind, and we want to tap into it and he wants to learn from us, so it's a good thing for everyone involved."

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 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."