What 49ers HC Kyle Shanahan had to say About his Contract Extension

The 49ers announced on Sept. 22 that both Kyle Shanahan and John Lynch were signed to new multi-year contract extensions.

Ever since these two took over the team back in 2017, the 49ers rose from the gutters of the NFL into being one of the best teams in the league since the 2019 season. While they don't have the hardware to show for it, retaining Shanahan and Lynch for the long haul is the right call.

Just imagine if the 49ers had ended up with current Raiders head coach Josh McDaniels. He turned the 49ers down, which led them to Shanahan. The rest is history as Shanahan has been one of the best hires the 49ers have made in a long time. On Wednesday, Shanahan spoke on his extension for the first time since the news broke and he gave a little insight into it.

"We did it before the Pittsburgh game, so I'd already celebrated with my family and stuff like that, which is huge," revealed Shanahan. "I feel very grateful. Just being a coach anywhere for a long time, I know what that means and extremely grateful for that to have that opportunity and mainly for my family to be somewhere for so long, which is cool.

"But, doing it before this season even started, I think meant a lot to me. Just shows you the people that we're with, that we believe in each other, despite what could happen whether we were 0-3 or 3-0, we'd still be in the same situation. I really like where we live and really like the people we work with, and they're committed to giving us a chance to go for it every single year and that's all I could ever ask for.”

The news on Shanahan's extension was odd given the timing, so after he revealed that it was done prior to the season, it made a ton of sense. Perhaps that is why the 49ers took so long with getting an extension done with Nick Bosa? (kidding). Shanahan has faults and some valid criticisms, but all that matters is if he keeps the 49ers as one of the best teams in the league. He's been doing so since 2019 outside of an injury riddled 2020 season.

They know how to bring in and find hidden talents. But most specifically to Shanahan is he knows how to build a coaching staff. That might be his most impressive skill other than his offensive scheme. Locking him, and Lynch, into a multi-year extension is a no brainer. The options out there for head coaches are slim pickings. The 49ers can sleep soundly knowing they have one of the best head coaches in the business.

"I feel very fortunate for it and like I said, we did this at the beginning of the year so it was very celebratory with my family and everything. But once the season started you kind of realize you feel the same in every other aspect. Nothing really changes.”