How Kyle Shanahan Can Improve as a Play Caller

No one questions Kyle Shanahan's ability to design plays. He is undoubtedly one of the best play designers in football.

But designing plays and calling them are two entirely different skill sets. And when it comes to calling plays, Shanahan can be great, but also erratic, especially under pressure in the playoffs.

Since 2019, Shanahan has had two of the best receiving weapons in the NFL -- Deebo Samuel and George Kittle. And yet, in six playoff games with those two, Samuel has caught just 20 passes (3.3 per game), and Kittle has caught a mere 15 (2.5 per game). Compare them to Cooper Kupp, who caught a whopping a 33 passes in only four playoff games last season.

A good play caller's job is to allow his best players to be stars. Rams head coach Sean McVay did a phenomenal job of letting Kupp and Matthew Stafford be stars last season, and they led the Rams to a Super Bowl victory. As opposed to Shanahan, who failed to get the ball into the hands of Samuel or Kittle during the final 12 minutes of the 49ers' NFC Championship loss to L.A.

Shanahan seems to want his scheme to be the star. So when the season is on the line and everyone knows the ball needs to go to Samuel or Kittle, Shanahan will call a pass for third-string running back JaMycal Hasty or slot receiver Jauan Jennings, to fool the opposition in theory. In reality, Shanahan simply outhinkins himself and gets too cute.

Shanahan will improve dramatically as a play caller if he can just get out of the way and allow Samuel, Kittle and now Trey Lance to take over when it counts.

Will Shanahan's ego allow him to take a back seat to his players?

We'll find out.