Making a Strong Case for 49ers' Kyle Shanahan to be the Coach of the Year

There is no other coach in the NFL who deserves the Coach of the Year award more than Kyle Shanahan.

Dec 22, 2025; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan leaves the field after the game against the Indianapolis Colts at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images | Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images

The 2025 season ended harshly for the San Francisco 49ers in a 41-6 loss to the Seattle Seahawks.

Getting bounced from the playoffs by a divisional rival in a beatdown leaves a sting, but it doesn’t take away the impressive year the 49ers had. It’s insane they made it as far as they did. 

The main reason the 49ers were able to was thanks to Kyle Shanahan. This year was easily his most incredible performance of any season as the head coach of the 49ers.

To win 13 games and a playoff game with numerous star players out for the year or a chunk of the season is nothing short of phenomenal. Most coaches would’ve faltered, and rightfully so

Yet, Shanahan led his team on the doorstep of the NFC Championship game. His performance this season should make him the clear-cut NFL Coach of the Year. 

Kyle Shanahan outperformed every coach 

Dec 28, 2025; Santa Clara, California, USA; San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan looks on in the first half against the Chicago Bears at Levi's Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Sergio Estrada-Imagn Images | Sergio Estrada-Imagn Images

No other coach deserves the award more than Shanahan. He did more with less than every coach in the league. The 49ers had over a quarter of their annual team salary on the Injured Reserve list, the most of any team, per Over The Cap. 

The only other playoff team that was close to the 49ers was the Los Angeles Chargers at close to 20 percent. Every other playoff team was at or under 10 percent. 

Any other coach in Shanahan’s shoes would’ve failed. Not to mention that the 49ers stayed afloat and excelled with a backup quarterback, Mac Jones, who plenty of teams wrote off. 

A quick look at just how much salary teams lost to reserve lists in 2025.https://t.co/FMU1WyPdJg pic.twitter.com/aua6dIn4jP

— Jason_OTC (@Jason_OTC) January 6, 2026

Another factor to consider is how abysmal the 49ers’ pass rush was. Playoff teams usually have an adequate one. Without it, you could expect a team to miss the playoffs. 

However, the 49ers were dead last in sacks in 2025 with 20. In the last three seasons, the teams that finished last in sacks not only missed the playoffs, but they combined for 9 wins. 

It’s safe to say that if a team has a poor pass rush, they’re going to struggle to win games. That’s exactly what the 49ers had. And yet, they made it to the playoffs with 13 wins and won a playoff game.

Crown Shanahan now. There is no debate. Ben Johnson might be the coach who wins it because he’s being wildly popularized. He has done a solid job with the Chicago Bears this year.

Sep 28, 2025; Santa Clara, California, USA; San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan walks off of the field after the game against the Jacksonville Jaguars at Levi's Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images | Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images

However, look at the talent they have.  There are a lot of highly paid and highly drafted players. You would hope he could get the Bears to a strong standing. Besides, Shanahan’s team beat Johnson’s. 

As for Mike Vrabel, Liam Coen, and Mike MacDonald. Credit to them for their sweet seasons. It doesn’t have anything on the year Shanahan had. He had to bring a knife to a gun fight and won.

A performance like that should be honored and commemorated. Shanahan is the 2025 NFL Coach of the Year. Alas, I doubt he wins it as the NFL award voters love a bandwagon, and that’s Ben Johnson.

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