Is Kyle Shanahan Losing Power within the 49ers Organization?

Until recently, it seemed the 49ers never said no to Kyle Shanahan.

Jan 5, 2025; Glendale, Arizona, USA; San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan against the Arizona Cardinals at State Farm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Until recently, it seemed the 49ers never said no to Kyle Shanahan.

If he wanted the Yorks to pay a certain player, they did. The front office would make the player an initial offer, the player would hold out for more money and the organization eventually would fold and give the player what he wants. See: Deebo Samuel, Nick Bosa and Brandon Aiyuk.

Last year, the front office wanted to trade Aiyuk. However, Shanahan insisted on keeping him and actually sprinted into John Lynch's office to stop an Aiyuk trade that was in progress. Big mistake.

In addition, Shanahan also seemed to encourage the 49ers to extend both Christian McCaffrey and Trent Williams -- two older players who missed lots of games due to injury last season.

Those recommendations cost the 49ers millions and they did not see a return on their investment in 2024. The team won a mere six games and missed the playoffs for crying out loud.

Now the 49ers have placed much tighter financial constraints on the front office according to general manager John Lynch. That's why they recently traded Samuel to the Commanders and might trade Aiyuk soon as well. They want to save money.

It seems the 49ers want Shanahan to focus on what he does best, which is coaching, and leave the financial decisions to the financial people, namely Executive Vice President of Football Operations Paraag Marathe.

This seems like a reasonable thing to do. The 49ers always could have fired Shanahan instead.

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