What Kyle Shanahan Needs to Improve on

Kyle Shanahan is a phenomenal offensive coordinator.

There is no denying how much of a genius he is when it comes to scheming and calling plays.

However, there is a rough edge about him as a head coach. That rough edge needs to be smoothened out if he is to raise his ceiling as a superb coach.

What Shanahan needs to improve on is his tunnel vision, specifically when it comes to his players. I have always described Shanahan as a person in high school that experiences their first crush. He just cannot shake that crush no matter how much of a bad idea it is. That correlates to how he views some of his players.

If he has a "crush" on you, then you have a significantly long leash. You could commit a ton of errors and be unproductive, yet Shanahan will still hold you in high regard because he believes in you. It is like when your friends tell you that your crush is bad for you or that you have no chance. Players who come to mind that are "crushes" are C.J. Beathard, Tevin Coleman, Kendrick Bourne, and even Dante Pettis for a time.

Shanahan plays favorites. And because he plays favorites, he fails to see the full potential in other players. Those players can be Richie James Jr., Tarvarius Moore, Dre Greenlaw, and Kyle Juszczyk. Shanahan would rather force feed his own guys and look like a genius when it works than to give opportunities to players who truly deserve it.

If Shanahan was able to elevate from his tunnel vision of seeing only a handful of players as his favorites, then he would know when to move off of a player sooner. Doing so would keep the 49ers more consistent with success and save them the time from giving hopeless players the time of day.

Unfortunately, I do not envision Shanahan shedding his biases. At least not in the short-term. But perhaps down the line as he puts in more years as a head coach he will realize that he just needs to evaluate the best players with emotions aside.

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