By Ron Johnson
The San Francisco 49ers were a powerhouse team last season. After losing Jimmy Garoppolo for the year earlier in the season, and Trey Lance in the middle of it, they relied on the shockingly, epic performance of Brock Purdy to lead them from obscurity and into the playoffs. Despite Purdy’s performance, the Niners are not entering the new season as World Champions.
And now, we can officially say that it is time for San Fran to move on from Kyle Shanahan.
Back in the 2019-20 season, the Niners were poised to win the Super Bowl. In fact, with stars like George Kittle, Deebo Samuel and Garoppolo, the Niners should have as they were leading in bunches against Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs. But they made the same mistake that other teams in the postseason made when it came to Mahomes and Co. They messed around and found out why it is too easy for Mahomes to mount a comeback to the King of Choke Artists.
Two years later, the Niners were back in the hunt for another Super Bowl appearance as they faced the Rams. It did not end well there as Aaron Donald and the LA defense shut the potent offense down once again. Two weeks later, the Rams were hoisting the Lombardi Trophy after surviving the young upstarts from Cincinnati.
This brings us to last season…and what should have been Kyle Shanahan’s final game as coach.
The Niners were able to claim the NFC West and clinch a spot in the playoffs behind Purdy’s performance last season, but they were also faced with a conundrum of not having any reliable backup if Purdy went down. This leads us to Philadelphia and the NFC Championship Game against the Eagles. After taking out the Cowboys, we all expected a brutal slugfest between these two Goliaths.
What we got was the epitome of embarrassing if you are a Niners fan.
But we have to back up a little bit to after the injury with Jimmy G. Depending on Lance and Purdy’s performances moving forward, the Niners were looking to add some depth in the form of retired Chargers gunslinger Philip Rivers, who was enjoying retirement and coaching his son’s football team (just an idea for you Tom Brady). This was an idea floated around by Shanahan prior to their Super Bowl rematch with the Chiefs. So when Lance went down in week 2 and Garoppolo went down on December 4th, it was up to Purdy and journeyman Josh Johnson (no relation) to secure San Fran’s spot in the Super Bowl against a nasty Philly defense.
Unfortunately, this was not the case for the Niners.
Purdy suffered a torn UCL (ulnar collateral ligament) in his right elbow, and Johnson suffered a concussion. Purdy was not able to throw upon reentering the game, and it got so bad after Johnson’s concussion, the Niners were practicing throws with running back Christian McCaffrey. No, we’re not making that up. 
Now while McCaffrey and others are making excuses for the loss, let us keep it simple. The reason why the Niners lost in the NFC Championship is the same reason why they lost in the NFC Championship the year before and Super Bowl four years ago.
Kyle Shanahan is nothing like his father, and he is trying too hard to mirror him. Let us keep in mind that Kyle is the architect of one of the biggest choke jobs in Super Bowl history. And we are not even talking about the Niners. Did everyone forget about Super Bowl LI??? In that Super Bowl, the Atlanta Falcons had Tom Brady and the Pats on their heels, but they blew a 28-3 lead and ended up losing in the first overtime game in Super Bowl history.
Fast forward a few years later, and what do you think happens again??? Super Bowl LIV. It started with pure dominance by the Niners all through the game. That is, until they were introduced to Patrick Mahomes in the worst way possible. Bear in mind that Mahomes had already led a few comebacks prior to the Super Bowl that postseason, but this one was the icing on the cake as it led to a 31-20 win for the Chiefs, Mahomes’ first Super Bowl win in his debut no less and the start of the legacy known as
.
The concept that many seem to forget is that in all of these losses, there has been one common denominator in all of them: Kyle Shanahan. While you got several teams eyeing that infamous and elusive sixth Super Bowl Championship, San Francisco seems to have the best chance to win it every single year. Now with Jimmy gone and feeling a certain kind of way about Shanahan’s comments earlier this year, this weekend’s preseason matchup between the Niners and Raiders has a little more emphasis.
Not only will it be Jimmy G’s first game as a Raider, but it will also be his first chance to see Brock Purdy in action from the other side of the field. It will also mark an intriguing and ironic reunion meeting between two guys who were in that aforementioned Super Bowl between Atlanta and New England: Kyle Shanahan (who was OC of the Falcons) and Josh McDaniels (who was OC of the Patriots).
While everyone will be focused on if the Raiders can turn it around after a dismal season that had many scratching their heads, the focus will mainly be on if Shanahan is truly the answer for the Niners. The one good thing about Christian’s gripe is that the NFL did resurrect a rule that went away in 2011. The rule states that a team could dress a third string quarterback without using an active roster spot on gameday. So we shouldn’t see McCaffrey throw a pass from under center, but a halfback pass is not out of the question I think.
As for the Shanahan soundbite that still lingers in Jimmy’s head, it was in reference to a cold day in Philadelphia. While the Eagles celebrated another trip to the Super Bowl, Shanahan was asked if he saw any scenario that saw Garoppolo returning to the team in 2023. Shanahan said firmly that he did not see any scenario that would lead to that.
When coaches give up on stars, they cannot be surprised that they would react in the way that he did. But Jimmy G is no longer focused on Kyle’s comments, rather the present and the future with his new franchise. But after all this, it is safe to say that if Kyle Shanahan does not bring a Super Bowl to the Bay Area this season, or if Purdy has a sophomore slump (considering the Seahawks and the Rams are looking more dangerous than last season), Shanahan should be given his walking papers and shown the door in San Francisco.
But hey, that’s just my opinion. I may be wrong…but I doubt it.
