Kyle Shanahan Wanted Tom Brady to Start for the 49ers This Season

Kyle Shanahan almost made a tremendous mistake this past offseason.

He tried to coax 46-year-old Tom Brady out of retirement and start him over Brock Purdy, according to ESPN.

Good thing Brady said no.

Early in the offseason, Niners coach Kyle Shanahan sat down with Purdy and assured him that if he was healthy he would be the starter unless Brady wanted to play one more season for his hometown Niners. An ecstatic Purdy understood the logic, but the competitor in him also bubbled under the surface. "That meant so much to me," Purdy said. "I remember him saying, if we can get Tom Brady, we're going to try to get him. And I was like, 'Yeah, he's the GOAT. I get it.' But something deep down inside me was sort of like, 'Dude, I just showed you that I can play well in this system. And we were one game away from the Super Bowl.' ... More than anything, I was like, 'OK, now let's go.'"

Poor Shanahan. He means well, but he has absolutely no idea what to look for when he's searching for a quarterback.

He didn't want Brady in 2020 because he seemingly thought Brady was washed up and Jimmy Garoppolo was ascending. Wrong in both cases. Now, Shanahan wanted Brady when he really was washed up.

Shanahan also traded three first-round picks for Trey Lance and gave up on him after four starts. Thank goodness the front office took Brock Purdy with the last pick in the 2022 draft. Otherwise, the 49ers' starting quarterback might be Sam Darnold or Jimmy Garoppolo.

Bless Shanahan's little heart.