LAS VEGAS — Something totally weird happened this NFL head coach hiring cycle: Not a single Kyle Shanahan disciple got a job.
It snapped a streak of three straight years that a team poached a Shanahan assistant from the San Francisco 49ers staff. But if recent history is any guide, it’s only a matter of time before the next branch of the Shanahan Coaching Tree sprouts.
Why? The hires are usually successful.
Why Kyle Shanahan Disciples Are So Coveted
Of the 13 other head coaches to make the playoffs in 2023, four either worked with or for Shanahan at some point — DeMeco Ryans (Houston Texans), Mike McDaniel (Miami Dolphins), Sean McVay (Los Angeles Rams), and Matt LaFleur (Green Bay Packers).
Other than Ryans, each of those men is an offensive coach. That’s not by accident. Owners who hire them expect to bring some of the Shanahan Family offensive magic with them.
Kyle is the son of two-time Super Bowl champion Mike Shanahan, whose wide zone scheme has inspired countless variants, including the one his progeny is now running to near-perfection.
“The system works,” said 49ers quarterbacks coach Brian Griese, who played for Mike Shanahan and now coaches for his son. “I think the proof’s in the pudding. I think that there’s a lot of different ways to run offensive football. I think this one in particular is efficient.
“It doesn’t put too much on the quarterback if you don’t have to, because I think you have (the) opportunity to get the ball to your playmakers and make plays when you get them the ball,” he added at Super Bowl 58’s Opening Night Monday.
“And I think the one game is supportive of that as well. It just, it ties really well together, and I think it’s not a secret that other teams or owners are interested in the system because it’s worked. It’s proven not just now, but going back to Gary Kubiak, Mike Shanahan. I think that’s the reason.”
Don’t be surprised if Griese in three years is running his own team. There’s no better path to success in the NFL than working for Shanahan.
But it’s a two-way relationship. Shanahan’s staff is so good because he attracts some of the brightest minds in football — in no small part because they know it’s great for their careers.
“I think Kyle does a really good job of bringing in smart guys who love the game of football and are willing to try new things,” said 49ers tight end George Kittle, who was part of Shanahan’s first 49ers draft class in 2017.
“And I think he just kind of, I don’t know if it’s brain power or whatever it is, they come together and share ideas,” he continued. “He brings around highly motivated people who want to win and who want to do anything they possibly can to win, who will sacrifice going to dinner with their family, or who will sacrifice time at home with their kids.”
Explained Griese: “You got to be able to think, to think on your feet, not just as a player, but as a coach. You have to understand the scheme, to break a defense down, how to cut a defense, and take advantage of matchups and situations.
“So that’s a, that’s a system that I think a lot of people like myself or anyone, you know, getting into and learning, that’s how I played the game. That’s why I was interested.”
What’s that old saying? Often imitated, never duplicated?
That’s been the case with the Shanahan tree — with one key exception.
McVay, who worked with both Shanahans in Washington more than a decade ago, has done the one thing Kyle has not so far — win a championship.
KEEP READING: 49ers DC Steve Wilks Aiming To Prove NFL Teams Wrong in Super Bowl 58
The rest of the QB Collective crew is still trying to match Shanahan’s record of excellence. And given the friendly rivalry that’s surely budding throughout the league, he probably has reminded them of it once or twice.
“All those guys are people I’ve worked with a bunch [are] friends,” Kyle said at Opening Night here Monday. “We’ve gone through a lot together. My dad gave us all a huge opportunity and let me pick some of these guys that I worked with earlier in Washington, and it’s really cool to see them all have success.”
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