New England Patriots

San Francisco 49ers: Why Kyle Shanahan Is the Best Fit for Head Coach in 2017

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 10:21 p.m. ET

Fansided, Peter Panacy/FanSided via Niner Noise

The San Francisco 49ers are on the prowl for a new head coach in 2017 to replace Chip Kelly. Let’s take a look at why Atlanta Falcons offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan is the best fit for the Niners’ needs.

Far and wide, the San Francisco 49ers have been actively searching for the team’s fourth head coach in as many seasons.

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This is, of course, in the wake of former head coach Chip Kelly’s dismissal, as well as former Niners general manager Trent Baalke. And while the clean slate in Santa Clara should be seen as an attractive aspect, who knows what direction CEO Jed York will go in making the final call.

He should go with Atlanta Falcons offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan.

Shanahan’s Falcons finished with the NFL’s No. 1 scoring offense this season. While it helps to have weapons like quarterback Matt Ryan and wide receiver Julio Jones, Shanahan has also proven he’s done more with less offensive playmakers.

More on that in a moment, but let’s draw a comparison between Shanahan and another 49ers head coaching candidate, New England Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels.

The Kyle Shanahan vs. Josh McDaniels Argument

Like Shanahan, McDaniels is another sought-after candidate with a big name and reputation.

And, according to reports, the 49ers appear to be the preferred team for the New England OC in 2017.

Jul 28, 2016; Foxboro, MA, USA; New England Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels takes the field for training camp at Gillette Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Winslow Townson-USA TODAY Sports

Sure, McDaniels would be an attractive hire. His work with the Patriots in recent years has easily made him one of the bigger names on the market. It wouldn’t be surprising — or even bad — if York and Co. brought him aboard.

But remove McDaniels from the New England tandem of quarterback Tom Brady and tight end Rob Gronkowski. Remove McDaniels from the auspices of head coach Bill Belichick.

A quarterback-less Niners team is essentially what McDaniels would be walking into. And we can draw some comparisons between McDaniels without the Patriots too. Just take a look at this chart, courtesy of Pro Football Reference:

Team’s Ranks Table
	Overall	Offense	Rushing Off	Passing Off
Year	Tm	Tms	WL%	T/G	Pts±	Yds±	Yds	Pts	GvA	Att	Yds	TD	Y/A	FL	Att	Yds	TD	Int	NY/A
2006	NWE	32	4	4	4	8	11	7	16	6	12	4	18	25	12	12	7	6	12
2007	NWE	32	1	3	1	1	1	1	1	9	13	5	14	3	5	1	1	3	1
2008	NWE	32	6	15	6	6	5	8	8	4	6	4	7	13	12	12	13	5	13
2009	DEN	32	16	7	18	13	15	20	7	14	18	22	17	11	9	13	16	7	15
2010	DEN	32	29	27	29	25	13	19	16	27	26	12	24	27	7	7	15	7	9
2011	STL	32	31	23	32	30	31	32	11	23	23	29	20	26	16	30	32	4	31
2012	NWE	32	3	1	1	5	1	1	2	2	7	1	17	8	4	4	4	4	6
2013	NWE	32	3	8	8	13	7	3	8	9	9	2	9	9	7	10	13	7	15
2014	NWE	32	1	2	1	10	11	4	1	13	18	12	22	2	7	9	5	4	17
2015	NWE	32	3	5	3	8	6	3	1	25	30	11	29	2	5	5	1	1	7
2016	NWE	32	1	3	1	2	4	3	1	3	7	5	25	13	23	4	6	1	3
2 yrs	%tile		33	50	30	44	59	42	67	39	34	50	39	44	78	72	55	81	66

Outside of New England, McDaniels’ numbers haven’t exactly been awe inspiring. Perhaps we can cross off his years as head coach with the Denver Broncos in 2009 and 2010 as simply being “too much, too soon” for the then-34-year-old McDaniels.

But the 49ers’ situation in 2017 will be a lot like the situation he was in with the St. Louis Rams in 2011 — lacking playmakers and, essentially, starting from scratch.

The Case for Kyle Shanahan

This isn’t to say McDaniels would be a bad fit, per se. He might be excellent and could have learned from previous mistakes.

But it’s safe to say Shanahan has done more, as Niner Noise pointed out in our recent head coaching candidate rankings.

Sure, Shanahan would be walking into a situation in San Francisco without an established quarterback or standout receiver. But he’s done that before with less-than-stellar offenses.

But the numbers, per Pro Football Reference, are vastly better than those of McDaniels:

Team’s Ranks Table
	Overall	Offense	Rushing Off	Passing Off
Year	Tm	Tms	WL%	T/G	Pts±	Yds±	Yds	Pts	GvA	Att	Yds	TD	Y/A	FL	Att	Yds	TD	Int	NY/A
2008	HOU	32	17	29	21	8	3	17	30	16	13	11	13	20	7	4	13	29	5
2009	HOU	32	11	19	11	7	4	10	16	20	30	18	31	17	4	1	5	17	3
2010	WAS	32	20	19	27	26	18	25	21	31	30	24	16	21	4	8	22	20	18
2011	WAS	32	26	30	24	16	16	26	30	25	25	26	22	22	5	14	23	29	16
2012	WAS	32	9	3	12	13	5	4	1	3	1	2	2	5	30	20	13	1	2
2013	WAS	32	31	25	30	11	9	23	30	13	5	13	3	29	9	16	24	20	23
2014	CLE	32	20	9	25	26	23	27	13	6	17	4	28	6	26	20	32	19	16
2015	ATL	32	14	27	15	10	7	21	26	16	19	12	25	28	8	6	23	24	10
2016	ATL	32	5	4	2	4	2	1	1	12	5	3	5	2	26	3	2	4	1
0 yr	%tile

Even on some bad Houston Texans, Cleveland Browns and Redskins teams, Shanahan’s offenses have finished no lower than 16th overall, in terms of total yards, just twice — 2010 and 2014. And one can easily make the argument those were due to a lackluster roster than poor play-calling.

There is a question though whether or not Shanahan would actually wind up with the 49ers.

According to Chris Biderman of Niners Wire, the Denver Broncos — looking for a replacement for the now-retired Gary Kubiak — might be the most likely of landing spots.