With the San Francisco 49ers, Kyle Shanahan has not only been one of the most successful head coaches in the NFL, he has been one of the top playcallers too.
Having been named head coach because of his reputation as an offensive genius, Shanahan has lived up to the billing as the top name. He was supremely successful as a coordinator, but Shanahan has been able to translate that success into his head coaching career.
When Did Kyle Shanahan Become 49ers Head Coach?
Shanahan was named head coach of the 49ers on Feb. 6, 2017, and he has spent seven seasons in San Francisco. He was hired after the 49ers fired Chip Kelly after just one season in charge where he went 2-14.
Under Shanahan, the 49ers have been far more successful, making the playoffs four of his seven seasons and three times in a row. While we are yet to see how far Shanahan can lead the 49ers in the 2023 playoffs, he has a strong record in the postseason.
Every year Shanahan has been to the playoffs with San Francisco, they have made the NFC Championship Game or the Super Bowl. Before the 2023 playoffs, Shanahan has a postseason record of 6-3. His first visit to the playoffs was in 2019, making the Super Bowl but eventually losing to the Kansas City Chiefs.
Then he returned to the playoffs in 2021, losing the NFC Championship Game to the Los Angeles Rams. Disappointment struck Shanahan again in 2022 when the 49ers lost in the NFC Championship Game to the Philadelphia Eagles.
His sustained level of success shouldn’t be surprising. The Shanahan roots are firmly set in the NFL.
From a football family, Shanahan was always destined for NFL coaching success. His father, Mike Shanahan, won two Super Bowls as head coach of the Denver Broncos. Mike’s 178 career wins put him 17th on the list of the NFL’s winningest head coaches of all time.
Shanahan’s Coaching Career
The two worked together in Washington when Kyle was the offensive coordinator under his father. However, Shanahan has had to earn his opportunity at the highest level, working his way up the NFL coaching ranks.
Speaking in 2006, Mike said he had seen greatness in his son. “He’s so much further ahead than I was at the same age it’s not even close,” Mike said.
“He’s been around me, and he’s been on the field. He’s run routes against NFL defensive backs since he was a junior in high school. He’s been in the locker room during the offseason program. The first time I was on a pro practice field was when I was 31 years old.”
Kyle started his coaching career back in 2003 when he worked as a graduate assistant with the UCLA Bruins. He got his shot in the NFL a year later, becoming an offensive quality control coach with the Tampa Bay Buccanneers.
Quickly moving up in NFL circles, Shanahan moved to the Houston Texans in 2006 where he coached both WRs and TEs before becoming offensive coordinator.
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He stayed there until he had the opportunity to join his dad in Washington in 2010. After three seasons, Shanahan transitioned to the Cleveland Browns, continuing as an OC.
He really emerged as an HC candidate with the Atlanta Falcons when they were one of the most explosive offenses in the NFL in 2016. The season ended in an overtime Super Bowl loss to the New England Patriots. However, Shanahan was able to show he was one of the best offensive minds in the NFL.
The possibility of Shanahan leaving for an HC position had been touted and expected throughout the season, and he took multiple interviews during the playoff run. Shanahan was announced as the HC of the 49ers just one day after the Super Bowl loss.
Despite having a good start to his HC career, Shanahan still a ways to go to beat his father’s record. However, with 70 wins as head coach of the 49ers at the end of the 2023 regular season, Shanahan is on his way up the leaderboard. Additionally, at 44 years old, Shanahan feasibly has decades left to climb.
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