Kyle Shanahan - Pro Football Rumors

Extra Points: Rams, Shanahan, Raiders

September 20th, 2017 at 4:41pm CST by Zachary Links

In January, the Rams had planned to interview Kyle Shanahan for their coaching vacancy, but a snowstorm on the East Coast put the powwow on hold, as Alden Gonzalez of ESPN.com writes. Days later, the team 86’d the meeting altogether as they pivoted eventual hire Sean McVay.

“They told me if I didn’t sit down, they might end up having to move on,” Shanahan said, “and I was definitely OK with that. I think it worked out for both parties.”

On Thursday night, the Rams will get a glimpse at what might have been when they take on San Francisco at Levi’s Stadium. Of course, the Rams are very high on McVay – who is the league’s youngest coach – so they have no cause for regret at this time.

Here’s more from around the NFL:

Donald Penn’s new two-year, $21MM extension with the Raiders will not give him a raise from the $6.4MM he was due in 2017, Tom Pelissero of NFL.com tweets. However, he did get a $3MM guarantee in 2018 in exchange for signing on for two more years. In 2019, he’s slated to earn a non-guaranteed $6MM, Michael Gehlken of the Las Vegas Review-Journal tweets. As previously reported, he could get guarantees that extend into the 2019 season based on how well he plays in 2017.
Based on his history, it’s likely that Bengals offensive coordinator Bill Lazor will look to move the offense quicker with more of a dink-and-dunk approach, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com opines (Twitter link). It remains to be seen what the running back rotation will be like. To date, Joe Mixon and Jeremy Hill have not had a lot of carries while Giovani Bernard has drawn the lion’s share of the work. That could change now that Ken Zampese is out and Lazor is calling the plays.
On Tuesday, the Panthers, Bears, Cowboys, Packers, Jaguars, Chiefs, Dolphins, Jets, 49ers, and Bucs all conducted workouts.

Kyle Shanahan, John Elway Address Broncos’ HC Decision

August 18th, 2017 at 6:59pm CST by Sam Robinson

Kyle Shanahan lost out to Vance Joseph when the Broncos chose a coach to replace Gary Kubiak in January. But Shanahan ended up in San Francisco, and the first-year HC said during the 49ers and Broncos’ joint practices he sensed he wouldn’t get the Denver job.

“I just had this gut feeling that I wouldn’t,” Shanahan said, via Nick Wagoner of ESPN.com, of his chances at becoming the Broncos head coach. “I went into the interview, I really enjoyed it, meeting with those guys. I hadn’t seen them for a while. But yeah, I never felt like it. I felt after the interview I made it hard on them, but I always had a feeling that I wasn’t.”

Elway played for Mike Shanahan for most of his career, when Shanahan was an assistant or during the four years he coached Elway as Denver’s HC. While the Broncos GM passed on bringing Mike’s son into the fold, Elway said the then-Falcons OC “wasn’t far behind.”

“His knowledge of the game is as good as there is in the league. It’s just a matter of finding the right fit,” Elway said. “I’m very happy with Vance, but Kyle wasn’t too far behind just because he has that knowledge. There’s no doubt in my mind he’s going to have a lot of success in this league.”

Due to the ties he had growing up in Denver, Kyle Shanahan ended up with a slight sense of relief he didn’t get the Broncos job. The younger Shanahan spent time in the Bay Area growing up as well, with Shanahan separating his Denver stays with a three-year run as OC in San Francisco, but most of Mike Shanahan’s NFL coaching years came in Colorado.

“Always deep down, I think, I’d rather [be in] a different situation,” Shanahan said. “But I loved Denver. I loved growing up there. My family is from there. My wife’s family is from there. So it would be a hard thing to say no to when your family’s there and things like that. But by no means was that my situation of choice.”

Elway agreed one of his finalists receiving the job Joseph now has would have created potentially a more pressure-packed environment and expounded on why Shanahan viewed it as a lesser fit than his current position.

“You are coming back to where you were raised and friends and family and everything that’s back there, all of a sudden you might have been walking into a pressure-cooker, especially with the situation that we’re in, having won the Super Bowl a couple years ago, so the expectation level was very high,” Elway said of the disparate natures of the job Joseph got and the rebuilding task Shanahan agreed to undertake. “So I can understand what his thinking was on whether he wanted that job or not because [of] having grown up there and such.”

NFC Notes: Vikings, Peterson, 49ers

May 27th, 2017 at 9:05am CST by Ben Levine

Vikings coach Mike Zimmer is taking some time off as he recovers from eye surgery, but the 60-year-old vowed that he’d be back before long.

“I’ll be back shortly. One eye or two, it really doesn’t matter. I’m going to be back,” Zimmer said (via Matt Vensel of the Star Tribune). “So we can put the retiring thing or whatever to bed quickly.”

The coach revealed that there haven’t been any setbacks since he underwent surgery earlier this month, and he indicated that a recent examination revealed that everything was progressing positvely. Zimmer is ultimately hoping to be back on the sideline in early June for organized team activities.

“I miss being in the meetings with players and I especially miss being out on the field, where I can give immediate feedback on technique and things like that,” he said.

Let’s check out some more notes from around the NFC…

During the NFL Draft, 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan called tight end Vance McDonald to update him on potential trade talks. The 26-year-old offensive weapon appreciated his coach’s willingness to be completely transparent about the rumors. “Basically, it’s just like any other team in the NFL would do,” McDonald told Matt Maiocco of CSNBayArea.com. “If you’re a 2-14 team, obviously, there are a lot of things you can improve on, a lot of spots that need to be filled. There are a lot of things you need to improve upon in the offseason. So if teams are going to call and inquire about you, then obviously the next step is to … call around to every other team…So that’s exactly what happened to me. It isn’t like they don’t want me here. There was never a lack of communication on any level.” McDonald finished last season with career-highs in receiving yards (391) and touchdowns (four).
Running back Adrian Peterson is still trying to figure out his fit with the Saints, but his teammates are confident that his presence will result in one of the most explosive offenses in the NFL. “I think he’s looking forward to that,” said fullback John Kuhn (via Brett Martel of the Associated Press). “Not to put words in his mouth, but everybody in here, especially on the offensive side, realizes that the more weapons that we have, the more explosive we can be.”
Cardinals wideout Jaron Brown was expected to play a significant role during the 2016 season, but a torn ACL ended his campaign prematurely. Despite the injury, the organization still decided to sign the former undrafted free agent to an extension. Now, Brown is hoping to repay the Cardinals for their good will gesture. “That meant a lot,” Brown told Kent Somers of AZCentral.com. “You don’t see that too many times, and it kind of shows that faith and loyalty in me to get back to where I was. It was good for both sides.”

Extra Points: Trubisky, Dolphins, 49ers, Bucs

May 6th, 2017 at 8:58pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Bears played it close to the vest before making their Mitch Trubisky trade from No. 3 to No. 2, one that headlined the draft and one that may have the team’s power structure at odds. Chicago’s brass tried to throw teams off the scent early in the process by sending an armada of personnel to Deshaun Watson‘s pro day while orchestrating a secret dinner meeting with Trubisky, per Jeff Dickerson of ESPN.com. The Bears also “begged” Trubisky’s camp not to leak news of that summit, and that part of the operation succeeded. Ryan Pace followed Dave Caldwell‘s secretive playbook when he made the Blake Bortles pick few expected.

Here’s more from around the league as rookie minicamp sessions are upon us.

Charles Harris experienced a similar type of draft misdirection. The Dolphins cancelled a pre-draft visit with the Missouri product without providing a reason for the change of plans. “I was like, ‘Man, that’s messed up,” Harris said, via James Walker of ESPN.com. Miami was linked to edge defenders coming into the draft despite re-signing Cameron Wake and Andre Branch, and Harris fell to the Fins at No. 22 to validate their pre-draft plot. The Dolphins met with Harris at the Combine but didn’t prompt him for a post-Combine workout before the cancellation tactic. “It’s just there are some players that we purposely try and stay away from once we are comfortable with the player, his character and what type of kid we are getting,” Dolphins GM Chris Grier said, via Walker. “We just do not feel the need to spend any more time with them.”
John Lynch and Kyle Shanahan were split on one of the 49ers’ eventual draft picks, and the coach won out. Lynch had Utah running back Joe Williams off his draft board, but Shanahan convinced the new GM to give the go-ahead for a fourth-round selection, Eric Branch of the San Francisco Chronicle reports. Shanahan, who was tied to the 49ers midway through the GM hunt and thus received an opportunity for additional control, helped sway Lynch to trade a fifth-round pick to move up in the fourth round and select Williams. The Utes runner’s questionable off-the-field past had Lynch skeptical, but Shanahan saw some promise in the back who ran the Combine’s second-fastest 40 time at 4.41 seconds. With Carlos Hyde entering a contract year, Williams could be a key component of the 49ers’ future.
Both Kendell Beckwith and Buccaneers management expect the linebacker to be ready to return by training camp, Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times reports. Beckwith tore his ACL late during his senior season at LSU last fall. Stroud expects Beckwith to be a possible early-season starter on the strong side, with the writer believing primary 2016 starter Daryl Smith — PFR’s No. 4 UFA off-ball linebacker — is closing in on retirement rather than returning for a 14th NFL season.
Bucs running back Jeremy McNichols underwent surgery shortly after the Combine to repair a torn labrum, per Jenna Laine of ESPN.com. Laine reports McNichols’ timeline hovers at around four months, noting the Boise State-developed back hopes to be ready for camp. McNichols arrived via fifth-round pick for a Bucs team that has questions about Doug Martin‘s future. The team still employs Jacquizz Rodgers, Charles Sims and Peyton Barber on the roster. McNichols caught 103 passes at Boise State in three seasons, but Jason Licht views him as a possible three-down back as opposed to a passing-game specialist.

Front Office Rumors: Bills, 49ers, Colts

March 23rd, 2017 at 12:09pm CST by Zachary Links

Earlier today, Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com brought us news on the Redskins’ GM search. Further down in his column, he presented more front office news from around the NFL. Here’s a look at the highlights:

New Bills coach Sean McDermott could convince ownership to import front office guys with whom he has a relationship. JLC floats the name of Panthers director of player personnel Don Gregory and notes that there are “already rumblings that the marriage of McDermott and Bills GM Doug Whaley” will not last.
The 49ers are also looking to add to the front office. This makes sense given that new GM John Lynch is a front office neophyte.
New Colts GM Chris Ballard may want to shake up the scouting core, but league sources tell JLC that he may have to wait a year since the evaluators that are already there have more time to go on their contracts. Still, Ballard badly wants to poach Seahawks executive Ed Dodds. If Indy can land him, he’ll probably get a promotion over his current title. Jets director of college scouting Rex Hogan is also a Ballard target, but JLC hears that he still has a good amount of time left on his contract and might be harder to pry away.
Bears exec Morocco Brown, who has history with Ballard, could be a possible candidate for the Colts and 49ers. JLC notes that Brown had a solid relationship with new SF coach Kyle Shanahan in D.C.

Daniel Snyder Blocking Kirk Cousins Trade?

March 8th, 2017 at 6:46pm CST by Dallas Robinson

The Redskins haven’t given any indication they they’re willing to trade franchise-tagged quarterback Kirk Cousins to the 49ers (or any other club), and Washington may be holding onto its signal-caller thanks to owner Daniel Snyder‘s poor relationships with both Cousins and the Shanahans, Kyle and Mike, according to Kevin Jones of KNBR.

Snyder reportedly still holds a grudge against the Shanahans after firing the pair following the 2013 campaign, per Jones, and especially dislikes that the duo’s prediction of a failed Robert Griffin III career ultimately proved true. As such, Snyder has no interest in “helping” Kyle Shanahan in any regard, including sending him a ready-made franchise quarterback in Cousins.

Snyder may also possess personal animus towards Cousins, as Jones describes a “weird” relationship between the two. After Cousins won the first game of his career in 2012 filling in for an injured RGIII, Snyder reportedly refused to congratulate or even acknowledge Cousins in the locker room following the contest, according to Jones. Although Snyder has since softened his stance, a degree of tension still endures.

Cousins will make nearly $24MM in 2017 under the terms of his second consecutive franchise tag, which he has yet to sign.

49ers Rumors: Kap, Shanahan, Staff, Reid

February 9th, 2017 at 7:04pm CST by Sam Robinson

Colin Kaepernick appears to be warming to the idea of staying in San Francisco. While it’s uncertain if that’s in John Lynch and Kyle Shanahan‘s plans at this juncture, the 29-year-old quarterback reached out to Lynch. Kaepernick and the new 49ers GM plan to meet soon, Lynch said Thursday (via Eric Branch of the San Francisco Chronicle).

“It will be a football decision,” Lynch said regarding Kaepernick’s status, “but I think part of that, there are different layers to that. I think everything will be included in the decision. I’m not talking specifically about his stance, though. When you have a quarterback, the great ones are leaders of men. All those things will be taken into account. Colin and I, when I did some 49ers games, I’d say we hit it off. I’d say there was a trust there. I think that trust extends, and I was thrilled when he reached out. I’m looking forward to talking with him.”

Shanahan said he will evaluate Kaepernick on film in the coming weeks. Many other signal-callers, like Kirk Cousins or Jimmy Garoppolo, have been linked to the 49ers in recent weeks, and the team can save $16.9MM by cutting Kaepernick. Previously believed to be opting out, Kaepernick is now in wait-and-see mode, joining the new-look 49ers in that regard. He’s the only quarterback under contract with the 49ers for 2017, even if that contract is not exactly binding.

Here’s more coming out of San Francisco.

The official delegation of autonomy came down, and Shanahan will indeed be one of the handful of coaches with 53-man roster control. Lynch will oversee the 90-man roster, free agency and the draft, Albert Breer of TheMMQB.com tweets. Shanahan elaborated on his decision not to ask more from the 49ers in terms of control after being in a position of leverage due to the team’s eventful head coaching search. “I didn’t want to demand all of it,” Shanahan said. “What’s important to you? I’ve always thought none of it matters if you’re working with the right guy. So it’s what do you want to put down on paper? And I don’t need all that down on paper. It was important to me to have the 53 on paper because I think it’s important that the players know that.”
Shanahan made a commitment to former Falcons running backs coach Bobby Turner to follow him to his first HC job “a long time ago,” but he wants previous RBs coach Tom Rathman to stay with the team in a different capacity, Matt Maiocco of CSNBayArea.com notes. The former fullback has spent the past eight seasons on the 49ers’ staff, dating back to the Mike Singletary regime. “I love Tom Rathman. He’s a hero of mine, and I know what kind of coach he is. I’m trying hard to get him to be here in whatever other role he wants,” Shanahan said. “But I know Tom. Tom is a running backs coach. I’m going to try my hardest to keep him here. It’s definitely going to be up to him.”
One of the many players placed on IR during the 49ers’ 2-14 season, Eric Reid looks to be on track to return by OTAs, Nick Wagoner of ESPN.com reports. Reid tore a biceps tendon in late November but told Wagoner a doctor informed him if there was a game this week he would be able to practice. Entering his fifth season, the safety will make $5.676MM as part of the fifth-year option the team exercised.
Lynch does not have a known preference on what kind of defensive scheme he wants the team to utilize. He said (via Nick Wagoner, on Twitter) he’s talked with DC options with backgrounds in multiple fronts. Former Jaguars linebackers coach Robert Saleh, current Patriots ‘backers boss Brian Flores and Falcons passing game coordinator Jerome Henderson are known options thus far. The 49ers have long used a 3-4 alignment, but most of the players from their early-2010s defensively geared run are no longer on the team. That said, 5-technique ends Arik Armstead and DeForest Buckner arrived as first-round investments the past two years.

49ers Won’t Hire Offensive Coordinator

February 8th, 2017 at 11:37am CST by Dallas Robinson

New 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan will likely call the offensive plays in San Francisco, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link). Additionally, Shanahan is expected to hire former Falcons assistant Mike McDaniel as a run game coordinator and Wagner College offensive coordinator (and former Falcons staffer) Rich Scangarello as quarterbacks coach, per Rapoport. Ex-Atlanta running backs coach Bobby Turner is also headed to San Francisco, tweets Gil Brandt of NFL.com.

Given that the 49ers aren’t expected to hire a formal offensive coordinator, San Francisco will head into the 2017 campaign with inexperience infecting many areas of the club’s structure. New general manger John Lynch has never worked in an NFL front office, while Shanahan is not only a first-time head coach, but will act as his own OC and lean on a QBs coach in Scangarello whose most recent coaching experience comes at an FCS school. In addition, Shanahan will oversee some of the club’s personnel aspects, as he’ll exert control over the 49ers’ 53-man roster.

As for the rest of San Francisco’s coaching staff, Shanahan is reportedly interested in hiring co-defensive coordinators, with Atlanta passing game coordinator Jerome Henderson and former Jaguars linebackers coach Robert Saleh emerging as the most likely candidates for the positions. On offense, the 49ers still want to keep former RBs coach Tom Rathman on staff in some capacity even after adding Turner, tweets Matt Maiocco of CSNBayArea.com.

49ers Hire Kyle Shanahan As Head Coach

February 6th, 2017 at 6:18pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

After weeks of waiting for Atlanta’s season to end, the 49ers have finally named now-former Falcons offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan as their 20th head coach. Shanahan, 37, will join new general manager John Lynch in receiving a six-year contract to help turn around the 49ers, who went 2-14 in 2016 and are set to pick second in this spring’s draft.

Shanahan was among eight candidates the 49ers interviewed in January to succeed the fired Chip Kelly, and he became the runaway favorite for the job three weeks ago. His emergence as a shoo-in came after Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels and Seahawks offensive line coach Tom Cable withdrew from consideration.

Monday was the first day the 49ers could officially hire Shanahan, whose prolific offense led the Falcons to an 11-5, NFC South-winning regular-season mark, two playoff victories and a berth in Sunday’s Super Bowl. The Falcons collapsed on the sport’s biggest stage, though, as they blew a 28-3 second-half lead en route to a 34-28 overtime loss to McDaniels’ Patriots. Shanahan’s aggressive decisions in the fourth quarter, when the Falcons seemingly had a victory all but locked up, have since come under fire.

Despite his gaffes in Super Bowl LI, Shanahan is unquestionably among the NFL’s brightest offensive minds and is now parlaying his five-year career as a coordinator with the Texans, Redskins, Browns and Falcons into a head coaching position. Shanahan will have more responsibility than most neophytes, as he’ll have final say over the 49ers’ 53-man roster. His most important roster-related task this offseason will be helping the 49ers find a quarterback to replace Colin Kaepernick, whose tenure with the team is set to conclude.

Shanahan has long been a fan of Redskins standout Kirk Cousins, having coached him in Washington, and could pursue him either via trade or free agency in the coming months. Otherwise, Shanahan’s Plan B is reportedly Patriots backup Jimmy Garoppolo, who’s a trade candidate. If he and Lynch aren’t able to nab either of those two, they could turn to a veteran stopgap like Falcons reserve Matt Schaub and search for a younger option to become the franchise’s long-term solution.

The 49ers will have the means to make upgrades under center and elsewhere this offseason, as they lead the NFC in cap space (upward of $80MM, including the soon-to-be gone Kaepernick) and possess three of the draft’s first 66 picks. In the meantime, Shanahan will get to work on assembling a coaching staff. Given that all other newly named head coaches landed their positions well before Shanahan, he could be at a disadvantage in finding assistants.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Poll: Do You View Kyle Shanahan Differently?

February 6th, 2017 at 10:15am CST by Zachary Links

In the wake of what could have been the most exciting Super Bowl ever, everyone is trying to suss out exactly what happened: was Tom Brady a miracle worker or did the Falcons effectively give the game away? Things fell apart for Atlanta on both sides of the ball, but there is a lot of finger pointing in the direction of offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan.

Shanahan, who will serve as the next coach of the 49ers, was hired to help get the offense back on track after two abysmal years. The Niners are hoping that he’ll exercise better judgement than he did in the late stages of last night’s game. The Pats rallied back from a 28-3 deficit to bring the score to 28-20 late in regulation. Instead of running the ball three times at the Pats’ 22-yard-line with ~4:30 left, Shanahan got too cute and called for a deep pass play on second down. Ryan got sacked on the play and the Falcons’ subsequent attempts to dig out of the hole only pushed them further out of field goal range. Atlanta was forced to punt on fourth down, and that set up the Pats’ tying drive.

Should this be chalked up to a momentary lapse in judgement, or do you think less of Shanahan’s ability to lead SF after last night’s costly error? Vote here and explain your position in the comments below.