There are several questions that Kyle Shanahan must answer in 2022.
For starters, will he be able to put together back-to-back winning seasons finally?
During his time as an offensive coordinator or head coach, Shanahan’s teams have never been able to accomplish this. The closest they’ve come is to finish 8-8. With the new 17 game schedule, it will be nearly impossible to match that this season.
Next up, can Shanahan find a way to close games?
Closing games hasn’t been much of a problem for Shanahan during the regular season; it’s the postseason where this issue has reared its ugly head.
As the offensive coordinator in Atlanta, Shanahan’s play-calling in the fourth quarter helped New England overcome a 28-3 deficit to win Super Bowl LI.
Holding an eight-point lead and his offense in field goal position, Shanahan chose to call a pass instead of keeping the ball on the ground. Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan was sacked for a loss of 12 yards, moving Atlanta out of field goal position. An ensuing holding call pushed the Falcons back further, leading to a punt. Instead of being up 11, Atlanta had to put its thoroughly beaten in the second half back on the field. You know the rest.
Late game collapses in the postseason have followed Shanahan to the 49ers.
In two postseason trips under Shanahan, the 49ers took 10 point leads into the fourth quarter, and they’d lose both games.
Finally, can Kyle Shanahan find a way to improve on third and fourth down with Trey Lance?
The 49ers offense struggled mightily on third and fourth down in Lance’s two starts last season.
Against Arizona in week five and Houston in week 17, the 49ers could convert only eight of 24 third-down attempts. They were even worse on fourth down, converting only one of seven attempts.
The issue goes back to how Shanahan called the game in Lance’s two starts. There was an increase in designed quarterback runs which were largely unsuccessful. Shanahan needs to learn to trust his young quarterback’s throwing ability.
For the 49ers to improve in this area, Shanahan and Lance will need to get on the same page.
In early February, Lance sat down for an interview with Rich Eisen. He spoke about the need to strengthen the relationship between quarterback and coach.
“For me, watching tape with Kyle, I think, is a big thing,” Lance told Eisen. “Whether it’s tape from my games, tape from Jimmy’s games. Any of the games this year, understanding how he sees the game and making sure that we’re on the same page throughout the year.”
“Will he (KS), be able to put together back-to-back winning seasons finally?”
* Not really a fair question Jack! A) considering the players he inherited, and B) The 2020 injuries can hardly be attributed to KS as a HC.
* “Can KS find a way to close games?” Had JG completed the pass to Sanders, the 9ers would have won the 2019 SB. Also, had Tart intercepted Stafford, the 9ers would have played the 2022 SB,! Again, not a fair question.
* “Finally, can Kyle Shanahan find a way to improve on third and fourth down with Trey Lance?” That is TBD Jack! But it does sound like a question Grant Cohn would pose!”
The questions are fair IMO.
Yes, Jimmy missed the throw, and probably made the wrong read. He also missed several other throws like one to Kittle underneath.
I tend to blame those on Jimmy but there is ample reason to question Kyle’s play calling given the lack of Deebo in those drives and his track record. Some of this could be on Kyle the GM failing Kyle the coach and not building an oline that could hold up in pass pro.
Additionally, Kyle has historically been great between the 20’s but less so in the red zone.
I too don’t like Grant’s takes much, as he takes a lot of unnecessary personal shots, imo. Implying Jimmy is lazy, stupid, and can’t go through his reads, rather than simply pointing out he’s got a blind spot for Robbers underneath. The later would be similar to how some hitters struggle with the curve.
None of this is personal or overly harsh imo.
Shanahan chose to keep Mullens and Beathard as the backups. That proved to be the undoing of the 2020 team.
How many times did Deebo Samuel touch the ball on the 49ers final two possessions against the Rams?
This is a great question. Shanahan’s game management and play calling was different with Lance than it was with Garoppolo. Those differences led to the poor conversion rates on third and fourth down.
These are fair arguments. Mike Tomlin and Bill Belicheck have done it.
Trade Coach Shanahan to New England when BB retires.
Many teams would love to have Shanahan but knowledgeable fans would be furious.
According to Grant you could easily get 2 firsts… but who do you replace home with?
Jim Tomsula, per Jed York privately.
I think this was a fine article that took some chances, as in my opinion there are reasons to be nervous about Kyle’s game planning and management, whereas the talking heads by and large proclaim him as some kind of wunderkind. I wouldn’t say he’s our weak link, but if talentwise the team became a juggernaut, I think he would be. His offensive game is built on deception, and it works by and large, but sometimes he gets too smart for his own good.
As for Grant, has anyone noticed that he’s been acting like he’s been drinking a lot of coffee? I’ve observed this over the last few months.
To me the number one question Shanahan must answer is: Can he put an offense on the field that is dynamic enough to win games when the defense takes away the run. One of the primary reasons the Rams beat the 49ers was Raheem Morris put a great game plan together to take away the run and force the 49ers to beat them in the passing game. It was clear on the 49ers late season win streak the 49ers won when they ran the ball close to 30 times. Morris took away the run game and forced the 49ers into a game where they ran the ball only 18 times in the NFCCG. You can blame the one dimensional nature of the offense in critical games on the limitations of Jimmy G but it’s more than that one issue. The 49ers fielded an o-line that was good at run blocking but poor in pass pro. They had a group of RBs who didn’t have the speed to hit home runs. Even when you go back to the Super Bowl year it was the passing game that let the 49ers down. Now that Shanahan has his hand picked QB, he must prove he can put together a multi-dimensional offense capable of exploiting every facet of a defense wherever that weakness may exist. He hasn’t proven that yet since he’s been with the 49ers.
Shanahan has to be one of the more frustrating coaches to root for….as I’m typing this I’m recalling all of Harbaugh’s quarks and faults. Either way, I love the guy, I think he is a great innovator, offensive mind, and an extremely underrated coach/player developer. Those are all qualities franchises covet in a HC. But his faults are decision making, hesitancy, and probably stubbornness. Last season was great to see them turn it around and right the ship, but at the same time it was his doing, that we were in that position in the first place. I’m honestly not sure where his conservativeness and hesitancy stem from. Is it the loss to Atlanta and KC, that has driven him to fear of pulling the trigger and taking a risk (i.e. 4th downs, starting Trey, trading Jimmy, etc), or was this who he was all along? No idea.
The way I see it, we are doomed to repeat this same cycle over and over, season after season. A lot of promise, a lot progress, but ultimately a lot of failure at the end of the season. It is frustrating, that being said, if he ever gets it together, and you know, grows a pair, we could see our 6th come sooner rather than later.
We’ll put.
I’ll give a “well put” to Leo and to 1.6… and you too, George!
I just laugh at all the handwringing about Shanahan from people who mostly have never been closer to football than their couch on Sunday. Only a couple of teams wouldn’t trade their record in 2 of the past 3 years. I think many people forget it isn’t a static situation. The Niners play against other teams who also try to win every game. And Wins and loses aren’t just on the coach but also on the 53 guys who get on the field.