49ers zero in on Kyle Shanahan
The San Francisco 49ers are going to be the last of the six NFL teams to fill their head coaching vacancy, but they might have gotten the best man for the job.
San Francisco has needed something to go right for quite some time. Since going to the NFC Championship Game in three consecutive years from 2011-13, the 49ers have not been back to the postseason. The reason? General manager Trent Baalke and head coach Jim Harbaugh couldn’t get along, forcing Harbaugh to the University of Michigan. After that, we saw the defections of great players such as Patrick Willis, Justin Smith, Frank Gore, Michael Crabtree, Alex Boone, Chris Borland, Chris Culliver, Aldon Smith, Anquan Boldin, Anthony Davis and a host of others.
However, perhaps fortunes are turning for the team by the bay. On Tuesday, it was widely reported that the 49ers are waiting on the Atlanta Falcons to finish their season, so they can hire offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan. Shanahan was the hot candidate for almost every available job going into the offseason, with teams lining up for the son of a two-time Super Bowl champion in Mike Shanahan.
Kyle has been an offensive coordinator in the league for four different teams, including the Houston Texans, Washington Redskins, Cleveland Browns and Falcons. The 37-year-old has never been more in-demand than now, with his Falcons leading the league in scoring at almost 34 points per game.
San Francisco still is trying to find a general manager to run the franchise, but that could made easier by the signing of Shanahan, assuming it goes through. The 49ers have to figure out plenty over the next few months, including who to draft and at what position with their second-overall pick in the 2017 NFL Draft. Do they go after a quarterback, or continue to build through the trenches with a pick of someone like Alabama defensive lineman Jonathan Allen?
Regardless, the hire of Shanahan would be a coup for a franchise that has been as dysfunctional as any over the past few seasons. The 49ers are about to hire their third head coach in as many years, something not even the Browns have been able to accomplish.
Should this hire would out, San Francisco could be set for decades. Only 37, Shanahan would be one of the youngest coaches ever hired in the NFL, right in the same range as when Jon Gruden and Mike Tomlin were given their first chances. He wouldn’t be the youngest head coach in his own division, though, with Sean McVay having him by about seven years.
Everything still needs to go from all-but confirmed rumor to actual fact, but this could be a banner day for the 49ers.
