Jimmy Garoppolo ‘Had a Hell Of a First Year’ – Shanahan

Jimmy Garoppolo is still the man to take the San Francisco 49ers forward, according to head coach Kyle Shanahan.

Super Bowl LIV was the tale of two quarterbacks in so many ways. San Francisco as a whole played better than the Chiefs, only for Jimmy Garoppolo to falter. As the 49ers surrendered a 10 point lead in the fourth quarter, Jimmy Garoppolo only made 30% of his passes.

Contrast that with Patrick Mahomes, who was below par before exploding in the fourth quarter. He inspired the Chiefs to victory, and lifted the Vince Lombardi trophy, which had his name written on it since the start of the season. 

When you fall down on the biggest stage, people are going to question you. However Kyle Shanahan says that his faith in Garoppolo is unwavering.

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“Same as it was the day before the Super Bowl,” Shanahan said.

“There’s no difference. He was on his way close to a Super Bowl MVP and we all know we didn’t … make those plays at the end but we made those plays all year, our whole team, that’s one of the reasons we were there. Whenever you don’t make those plays at the end of the game like that, first and foremost, the quarterback’s going to get attacked and then usually the play-caller. We understand that’s how it goes.”

“Jimmy’s one of the main reasons we got to the Super Bowl,” Shanahan said. 

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“He overcame a lot. This is his first year in his career going through an entire NFL season. So, he still doesn’t have as many starts and stuff as Baker Mayfield. I think he had a hell of a first year truly playing the position, especially coming off [a torn] ACL where you have to fight through that a ton as a quarterback where your rhythm and everything is not there at the beginning of the year.

“For him to be like that and to not let the pressure get to him and to improve as the year went I think says a ton about Jimmy. I can’t tell you how much I love coaching the guy as a player and as a person this year.”