Kyle Shanahan Teams Coached

Kyle Shanahan is a second-generation NFL head coach as his father, Mike Shanahan was a long-time head coach in the league from 1995 to 2013. Being the son of a three-time Super Bowl winner must have added advantages as he has a chance of leaning on his father for advice whenever required. Having said that, Kyle Shanahan is on his own football coaching journey and would like nothing less than to leave behind his own legacy which doesn’t include his father.

Shanahan Jr.’s ties with the game started as a very young kid due to obvious reasons. In college, he did play as a wide receiver but had limited to no success as a player. Kyle is the product of his father in the sense that both are offensive-minded coaches. Having studied and learned from one of the best minds in the game, Kyle used the knowledge to turn most of his offenses into a top-ten unit.

Kyle Shanahan’s start to football coaching

Kyle Shanahan officially made his way into the league in 2004 when the Tampa Bay Buccaneers signed him as an offensive quality control coach. But it was in 2006 when he truly got better opportunities as the Houston Texans signed him as their wide receivers coach. He developed himself into a quarterbacks coach followed quickly by getting the offensive coordinator role all with the Texans.

As a matter of fact, Kyle’s rise to quality positions in the NFL was so rapid that he became the youngest coach in the league to be an offensive coordinator. After Houston, the 43-year-old head coach went to other teams such as the Commanders (Redskins at the time), Browns, and the Falcons in the same role.

His stint with the Falcons was particularly satisfactory as he helped lead the team’s offense to a Super Bowl berth against the New England Patriots. It was extremely disappointing for the Falcons as they at one point in time held a 28-3 lead in the third quarter before completely breaking down on both sides of the ball and eventually losing the game. However, one positive from his two years in Atlanta was that his efforts were appreciated and landed him the 49ers head coaching role in 2017.

Kyle Shanahan as 49ers head coach

With his first job as the head coach of a team, Shanahan finally got the opportunity to build a team on his own terms. He also had the complete freedom to run the offense as per his desire and that showed as he established a similar run game as that of his father’s. The downside of this is that in his previous years as an offensive coordinator and especially in Atlanta, he had a flourishing aerial attack which was working wonders.

Nevertheless, Shanahan has established a great run game in an era where this part of the game is quickly losing momentum. On top of that, he has gone for high-percentage, short to medium-range pass plays targeting his best receivers in the middle of the field more often than not.

The Minneapolis native has had a bit of a roller coaster ride in his six years at the job with his first couple of seasons resulting in losing records. 2019 was the best season of his tenure as the 49ers reached and almost won Super Bowl LIV against the Kansas City Chiefs. With yet another down year in 2020, he has found consistent success in the past couple of seasons making the NFC Championship Game on both occasions.

In the 2021 NFC Championship Game, the 49ers lost a close fought match against the eventual Super Bowl Champions, the Los Angeles Rams by a score of 17-20. Heading into the fourth quarter the 49ers actually held a 10 point lead but ended up conceding three scores worth 13 points.

The past year they would once again challenge for a place in the Super Bowl but injuries really hurt them throughout the season, especially in the quarterback position. They lost their QB1 Trey Lance in the second game of the season to an ankle injury ruling him out for the whole year. Later on in the season, backup quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo also suffered a foot injury in week 13 and he was out for the rest of the season.

This left the 49ers with third-string rookie quarterback Brock Purdy who did a fantastic job until the NFC Championship Game when he also injured his elbow limiting him from throwing the ball effectively. In the end, the 49ers season came to an end in a very disappointing manner. However, the team is back on track in the 2023 season with the number one seed in the NFC and a place in the Conference Championship Round already sealed. This could be the year the 49ers go all the way and lift another Lombardi Trophy yet again.