Will This be the Year 49ers HC Kyle Shanahan Finally Shows Growth?

Shanahan hasn't changed much since he became the 49ers head coach in 2017. And he has had the same offensive philosophy since he first became an NFL offensive coordinator in 2007. And that's why even his best offenses often get shut down by elite defenses.

Grant Cohn | Jul 19, 2024

Dec 25, 2023; Santa Clara, California, USA; San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan reviews a play during the second quarter against the Baltimore Ravens at Levi's Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Neville E. Guard-USA TODAY Sports / Neville E. Guard-USA TODAY Sports

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San Francisco 49ers

Something is missing with Kyle Shanahan.

He's a good coach who has accomplished so much before the age of 45, but he still hasn't won a Super Bowl. And now he's the only head coach in NFL history to lose two Super Bowls in which he held 10-point leads. So he needs to change something about the way he coaches.

But Shanahan hasn't changed much since he became the 49ers head coach in 2017. And he has had the same offensive philosophy since he first became an NFL offensive coordinator in 2007. And that's why even his best offenses often get shut down by elite defenses.

With Christian McCaffrey, Deebo Samuel, George Kittle, Brandon Aiyuk, Trent Williams and Brock Purdy all on the same team, the 49ers offense should be completely unstoppable. But it's not, because its offensive line is subpar.

Despite all the talent the 49ers have on offense, they can't dictate to opponents who have excellent defensive lines. Can't run the ball when the defense knows a run is coming and can't pass the ball when the defense knows a pass is coming. The 49ers always have to trick the opposing defense. And that's why Shanahan is so important.

If the 49ers had a good offensive line, anyone could coach their offense and score 30 points per game. But the 49ers don't have a good offensive line, so they need Shanahan to work around it.

Shanahan will grow when his ego finally realizes that his team needs a good offensive line.

Published Jul 19, 2024

GRANT COHN

Grant Cohn has covered the San Francisco 49ers daily since 2011. He spent the first nine years of his career with the Santa Rosa Press Democrat where he wrote the Inside the 49ers blog and covered famous coaches and athletes such as Jim Harbaugh, Colin Kaepernick and Patrick Willis. In 2012, Inside the 49ers won Sports Blog of the Year from the Peninsula Press Club. In 2020, Cohn joined FanNation and began writing All49ers. In addition, he created a YouTube channel which has become the go-to place on YouTube to consume 49ers content. Cohn's channel typically generates roughly 3.5 million viewers per month, while the 49ers' official YouTube channel generates roughly 1.5 million viewers per month. Cohn live streams almost every day and posts videos hourly during the football season. Cohn is committed to asking the questions that 49ers fans want answered, and providing the most honest and interactive coverage in the country. His loyalty is to the reader and the viewer, not the team or any player or coach. Cohn is a new-age multimedia journalist with an old-school mentality, because his father is Lowell Cohn, the legendary sports columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle from 1979 to 1993. The two have a live podcast every Tuesday. Grant Cohn grew up in Oakland and studied English Literature at UCLA from 2006 to 2010. He currently lives in Oakland with his wife.