Tenured head coaches in the NFL are becoming more and more of a rarity, with notable names John Harbaugh and Mike Tomlin moving on from their respective teams this offseason, among other coaches in recent years.
That’s made San Francisco head coach Kyle Shanahan one of the longest-tenured coaches in the league behind only Los Angeles Rams head coach Sean McVay and Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid. Shanahan has been at his post since 2017 and has easily been one of the best head coaches in the league during his tenure with the 49ers.
However, one thing that has evaded the head coach has been a Super Bowl, despite the 49ers making the big game twice, as well as the NFC Championship Game four times since 2019. That has still left some doubters of his out there, especially with other teams moving on from long-tenured head coaches recently.
But Shanahan has consistently been in the Coach of the Year conversation when having half-healthy rosters, and one former player believes that he should be the guy for San Francisco for the next 20 years.
Former 49ers defensive back Logan Ryan, who won two Super Bowls with the New England Patriots, said this week that Shanahan was one of the most impressive coaches he’s played for when talking with NBC Sports Bay Area’s Matt Maiocco.
“That is a 20-year, 25-year head coach,” Ryan shared. “If he gets fired by the Niners in the next 20 years, they’re wrong. He is a genius, he is brilliant. I loved his leadership. I love his playcalling. I loved playing for Kyle Shanahan. He blew me away.”
This came a couple of weeks after Ryan said that the 49ers should give Kyle Shanahan a lifetime contract following his performance this season.
Prior to Shanahan, the 49ers had a rough patch since moving on from Jim Harbaugh. They cycled through a pair of one-year coaches with Chip Kelly and Jim Tomsula, going a combined 7-25 in those two years, before moving on to hiring the former Atlanta Falcons offensive coordinator.
Just two years after being hired, Shanahan had the 49ers in the Super Bowl, going from 4-12 to 13-3 and the No. 1 seed in the NFC. Of course, then came the blown lead against Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs, but the 49ers then made the NFC Championship Game four times in a five-year period before a tough, injury-riddled 2024 season.
Then, in what many viewed as a retool year with the team shedding a ton of veteran salaries in the offseason, the 49ers exceeded expectations and overcame more injuries to make the playoffs and win 13 games on the year.
Shanahan will always be judged on his Super Bowl success, but the 49ers head coach has continued to have impressive showings as both a CEO and a play-caller. Now, he and the team will look to add some talent ahead of another push for a championship in 2026.
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