What Kyle Shanahan has in Common with Bill Belichick

I never fully understood how Kyle Shanahan sees himself until this week.

It was during his press conference. A reporter asked Shanahan what he admires about Bill Belichick, whom the 49ers will face on Sunday. And when Shanahan answered, he sounded like he was listing all the things he likes most about himself.

Here's what Shanahan said:

“I just love his attention to detail. I love that he's not a BSer. He is a very smart person who looks at football very hard in all three phases and tries to do what's best from a common-sense standpoint and from his experience with teaching people. I love that he's not going to sit there and try to make up some rah-rah story to get guys to go. He's just going to keep it real, hold guys accountable and I think he has the experience and the preparation in what he's done to be one of the most knowledgeable guys to ever coach in this game. His consistency has to do with him just being himself, which he seems like all the time. I think his players really respect him for it because he obviously knows what he's talking about.”

As Shanahan gave that answer, I realized that's exactly how he sees himself. A no-nonsense communicator who succeeds with brains, not motivational speeches or charisma. Both Shanahan and Belichick work hard to have as little charisma as possible.

Shanahan basically is a longwinded Belichick without the championships. Both coaches mumble their insights during press conferences, but Shanahan mumbles much more.