The careers of Kyle Shanahan and Sean McVay will be a source of discussion for as long as both remain the head coach of the 49ers and Rams.
San Francisco and Los Angeles were each looking for new coaches following the 2016 season and had both coaches in for interviews. The two men had worked together with Washington from 2010-13 and were considered the hot candidates during the 2017 coaching search.
Shanahan was in the process of leading the highest scoring offense in the NFL to a berth in the Super Bowl. That type of offensive wizardry along with the Shanahan name made him an attractive option among the Faithful.
McVay on the other hand was not known so much for his coaching background as he was his last name. His grandfather, John McVay, was San Francisco’s VP/Director of Football Operations for 20 years. The 49ers had won an astounding five Super Bowl rings during his time heading San Francisco’s front office.
The 49ers chose Shanahan and McVay was hired by the Rams.
While Shanahan took over a moribund operation, McVay found himself heading a team full of potential stars.
Players such as Todd Gurley, and Aaron Donald were cornerstone pieces on each side of the ball. Just as importantly, McVay had a quarterback he could build around in Jared Goff.
Under McVay, Los Angeles had immediate success, reaching the playoffs in 2017. That success has continued with the Rams reaching two Super Bowls, winning their second on Sunday when they defeated Cincinnati, and posting no worse than a 9-7 record.
San Francisco has seen much of the opposite. The 49ers have posted three losing seasons in Shanahan’s first five seasons, with a trip to the Super Bowl in 2019 and the NFC Championship game in 2021 being the high points for the franchise over the last five seasons.
The results of the two can be boiled down to their approach to the most important position in the NFL, quarterback.
When Shanahan took over in San Francisco he chose to move on from Colin Kaepernick, instead bringing in Brian Hoyer, and drafting C.J. Beathard. With the team off to an 0-8 start, Shanahan sent a second round pick to New England to acquire Jimmy Garoppolo.
Although the initial results were impressive, Garoppolo would miss the majority of the 2018 season due to injury before returning healthy in 2019 to help the 49ers reach the Super Bowl.
In Los Angeles, McVay was winning games with a healthy Jared Goff leading the offense. After coming up short in the 2020 playoffs, McVay realized he had gone as far as possible with Goff and decided a change was needed.
On January 30, 2021, McVay sent Goff packing, trading the quarterback along with a 2021 third-round pick and two first-round picks in 2022 and 2023 to Detroit in exchange for Matthew Stafford.
In Stafford, McVay saw a quarterback who could take his team to a level they would not reach with Goff.
Shanahan found himself with a similar opportunity to upgrade the quarterback position following the 2019 season.
The best quarterback in the history of the NFL, not named Joe Montana, wanted to become a member of the 49ers. Tom Brady grew up a 49ers fan and was on his way out of New England.
This is what separates Sean McVay and Kyle Shanahan.
With an opportunity to upgrade the most important position on their team in front of them, McVay pulled the trigger and Shanahan passed.
Brady and Stafford would go on to win the last two Super Bowls.
Shanahan hasn’t completely sat on his hands regarding the quarterback position. Instead of brining in a proven winner at the NFL level, he chose to use three first round draft picks to acquire Trey Lance in the 2021 draft.
In Lance, Shanahan has “his guy” at quarterback for the first time in his career. The young quarterback may be the piece needed to finally push San Francisco back to the top of the NFL.
Young quarterbacks have found a great deal of success in recent years. After starting only one game his rookie season, Patrick Mahomes has led the Chiefs to a Super Bowl victory and at least the AFC Championship over the last four years. Joe Burrow started only 10 games as a rookie and led Cincinnati to the Super Bowl in year two.
If Trey Lance can show that type of skill in 2022, Shanahan may eventually be proven to have made all the right moves.
The main difference between Shanahan and McVay is 1 Superbowl win. The reality is that officials swallowing their whistles on the Chiefs o-line in the 4th qtr and the officials ignoring obvious false starts & offsides against the Rams while also creating phantom calls in favor of the Rams in the 4th qtr is the biggest difference in the outcomes of those games. Sure the Bengals squandered many opportunities but the Bengals allowed the Refs to make a difference for LA in LA. It’s not really debatable.
On the QB front, I think it’s bigger than just the QB position. The 49ers have a very conservative approach. The Rams have a damn the torpedo’s approach. I’d definitely love to have a SuperBowl but the 49ers building through the draft is the way to achieve long term success in my opinion. The Rams haven’t had a 1st round pick since 2016. They’ve signed big names and are not in a good spot with their salary cap position. Sooner or later that will catch up to them. But they have a Superbowl so I’m sure they all feel like overspending was worth it.
Jack,
While I think SF likely would have won the Superbowl with Brady this year. I do not believe that would have been the case last year.
The loss of Bosa essentially ended that season before it began. Can you see the Rams winning the SB this year without Donald? I can’t.
Perhaps we would win with Tom this coming year at State Farm Stadium should he truly come home. Imagine the storylines behind that when it happens.
The 49ers were competitive in 2020 even with all the injuries. What held them back from being in the playoffs was the quarterback position.
That conservative approach that they’re doing IMHO is becoming obsolete. The way to win in this era is by going all in via FA. Add to that, windows do close faster than it ever did 20 years ago, rendering dynasties defunct (Pats are likely the last one). What’s the use of that “long-term success” when in you always end up empty-handed?
I TOTALLY disagree with this. The All In via FA will catch up to the Rams. Even with the All In approach the Rams had the worst rushing performance in Superbowl history. They are a seriously flawed team that were in the right place at the right time this year. They wouldn’t have beat any of the past 10 Superbowl winners. Maybe they come close to the 2015/2016 Denver team but every other Superbowl winner beats this Rams team by double digits. They were only able to beat the Bengals and 49ers due to substantially poor O-line play in the most critical moments of the games. Rams got a Superbowl but they will come crashing down soon. I’d rather have ten 10 Win seasons with 3 or 4 Superbowl appearances and maybe a win or 2 over the “Go out in a blaze of glory” 1 Superbowl win and 7 years of .500 or below ball. That’s the way these 2 teams are shaping up. 49ers are on a decidedly long term upper end trajectory. Rams future is seriously cloudy.
Have you seen how the Andy Reid Eagles of the 2000s, Texans, and Colts of the past decades did? Multiple 10+ win seasons yet mostly ended empty handed. Also, Rams can just restructure anyway. Explain how the Browns and Jags used this strat yet failed.
You could go through all of NFL history and site those examples. Good teams, maybe borderline great teams, who couldn’t win the big game. Go back to the 49ers. The 49ers roster is built for long term success. They just need the franchise QB to go with the current roster and they will win multiple Superbowls.
Long term success? More like Long term playoff futility a la 1992-97 Steelers, 2000-10 Eagles, 1990-97 Chiefs, or worse, the 1988-99 Bills. Doesn’t matter if you have stabilized success when in fact you are ringless. Rather win now and be risky than tarry it by playing it cute. Kyle Shanahan is more of an up and coming Bud Grant than Bill Walsh. McVay otoh is John Madden. Guy ain’t winning a Super Bowl throughout his career despite many forays.
Next year the Niners will continue to ascend. The Rams are in for a BIG slide. They will lose coaches, draft picks,
players and have a head on collision with the salary cap.
Unlikely until we get Tom Brady. TBH Rams have a better eye on talent than Lynch would. Salary cap is a myth and can be manipulated as proven by the Chiefs and the Rams.
Lance shouldn’t be the guy until he is ready to play. But its clear Jimmy G isn’t the answer. He is the worst QB we have had since Smith.
Never should of dumped Kaepernick. But this is a loser franchise with losers in the front office.
What? Gabbert? Hoyer? CJB? Mullens? GTFO.
+ Colt McCoy
Colt gets a slight pass due to his beating the Niners last season with a team held together with duct tape. I still see red thinking about that. 😡😡😡
@BayAreaTestical
You’re an imbecile. Kaepernick opted out before the 49ers hired Kyle and Lynch. 49ers have been in a Superbowl and NFC Championship Game in the past 3 years. Suck it punk.
Hey Bay choose another team to “support”
Let’s see what the Rams do next year. Sustainability after a SB will mark how well the Rams have done.
If Lance proves out end of any discussion. This team pretty much sucked for the last twenty years other than a brief time with Harbaugh and two years with Shanny. This team is ready for another appearance in the playoffs, I expect Lance to get us there.
Nope. Not with his inexperience. He’ll likely win us 7 games at most and may even tear his ACL while running. Starting Lance also means wasting prime Kittle and Deebo. He has RGIII part 2 or Jamarcus 2.0 written all over him. The lad ain’t ready until the 2024 season at best, and that is being generous.
OTOH, Having Brady would automatically win us a bowl. Besides, The way to win a Lombardi in this era is by going all in via FA, not through that conservative “build via the draft” crap that creates a false illusion of stability and dynasties.
You’re wrong. We are right there with the Rams. If not for that dropped interception we’d probably have gone to the SB. With few draft picks and a salary cap, the Rams will start loosing good players. By not paying ridiculous money to free agents and keeping your draft picks you can keep most of your stars and build long term success.
Take a look at the Colts and Texans of the 2010s as well as the Cowboys. Used that “long term success” crap but how did that turn out for them? As seen with TB and LA, in today’s NFL, Free agency is the best way if you really want to win. Add to that, Dynasties no longer exist now and the Pats are likely the last ones for the foreseeable future.
Also, most draft picks end up as huge busts ~>96% of the time. At least with FA, you know what you are getting. And the salary cap is a huge myth that it can be manipulated (see the Chiefs).
96% of the time? Laughable. Lots of teams have gone the FA route and made huge mistakes that cost them for years.
At least it’s worth it with championships in the cap era. Gone are the days where drafts make dynasties. Perhaps we will never see such again because of parity. Many teams build with the draft yet end up with busts left and right (see Browns and Jags).
In terms of the better coach, I think in game, Kyle is the better coach.
Sean has a lot of F ups… but that is not the only thing a coach must do. Sean is better at building a roster, and appears more willing to rely on his players.
They funny thing is, for all of Kyle’s offensive genius status, it has been the defenses that have carried this team.
Being the grandson of an esteemed GM works, I suppose. Kyle should just stick to being an OC. He may win a ring easily by being such than by being a head coach.
He’s gone once to the Super Bowl and once to the conference championship in the last 3 years. How many other head coaches have done that?
Yeah right. Kyle had easier opponents in 2019’s playoffs and did not outright deserved to be in the Super Bowl that year. 2/3 years yet ended up empty-handed. Add to that, he was fortunate that both Dallas and GB choked which allowed them to reach the NFCC this past year. Kyle is too stubborn that it almost always costs us games (SBs LI and LIV, 2021 NFCC). He will end up like Schottenheimer and/or Marv Leavy, great coaches yet retired ringless. May win a ring, but with another team perhaps, in more than 20 years from now.
You are hilarious. Complete nonsense.
Cope. Keep deluding yourself that Kyle is the second coming of Walsh. Guy has no instinct but always play cute when it matters most. 2 deep playoff runs in three years mean nothing when you can’t even learn from that lesson. Kyle’s downfall would be because he refuses to learn due to his vast ego.
i disagree with you on this one jack. Mcvay took over a loaded roster, with the 2nd overall pick at Qb (Goff and Wentz both petered out, after taking the league by storm!) i will give SM credit…..for cutting the cord with Goff sooner than later. As with the cards moving on so quickly from Josh Rosen…….those are scenarios i never would have saw in the NFL 10,20-30 years ago.
After the 2019 season…..Brady looked washed! Threw a pick to end things in NE……had one of his worst seasons , statistically…….most of us agreed with the idea of 10-15 more years with Jimmy…….as opposed to 1-2 years with Brady! we were ALL WRONG! SM had at least 2 years to evaluate Goff……at that time, KS only really had 1 year to evaluate JG.
The only difference IMO……is that SM took over a much better roster than KS! we had to fully rebuild things here
Some of you guys are amazing. I’m amazed by how many people would rather hang their hats on a bunch of ifs, instead on going all in to win a Super Bowl. The Niners haven’t won a Super Bowl since 1994. As much as I love to make fun of the Cowboys, we’re in the same boat.
We have been a QB Short of winning the SB. The best QB is one that’s available. We know JG’s availability is not too far over 50%, when looking at his entire career as a niner. He’s good when on the field won’t argue with that but his hardly there and I believe his fear of being injured again sometimes plays a part in his interceptions. It’s been time to move on from JG. We need a QB who’s available.
With the right QB we are built to win right now. Not IF Lance develops. We need to win now. Go get Brady, Rodgers, or Wilson. All are proven, durable, have shown they don’t need a team full of studs to win. We could truly rely on their arms. Let Lance continue to learn and develop.
If we role with Lance. Take full advantage of him playing on a rookie contract and build the entire team. Let’s go get proven DB’s, since that has been an Achilles heel for almost a decade. Go all in to give Lance the support he will need. Similar to the Seahawks with Wilson.
But I’m tired of waiting. This drought is ridiculous and coming in 2-4th place on the regular basis is worse.
And that’s what Trey stans fail to see, the urgency to win now! With Brady, winning is quicker. With Trey, we’re likely wasting Kittle and Deebo’s prime years. Guess the FO is still stuck with the notion of building dynasties via the draft when in fact dynasties nowadays no longer exists thanks to the salary cap and the best way to win a championship is by winning now via FA.
Guess we’ll still have to wait for 23 more years to win our 6th. SMFH! Kyle will never win us a Super Bowl, let alone a dynasty.