Richard Sherman Laughs at Hot Seat Notion for 49ers HC Kyle Shanahan

If the 49ers miss the playoffs, would there be a hot seat for Kyle Shanahan?

Oct 9, 2025; East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA; Richard Sherman is seen on the Thursday Night Football set before the game between the New York Giants and the Philadelphia Eagles at MetLife Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images | Brad Penner-Imagn Images

There’s no denying that Kyle Shanahan did a phenomenal job leading the San Francisco 49ers to the playoffs last year. 

He had every excuse to bottom out with all of the injuries to their star players. Yet, Shanahan managed to keep his players locked in and even win a road playoff game.

However, despite an unfathomable 2025 season, there are still notions of Shanahan being on the hot seat, with one taking place on The Richard Sherman podcast. 

Sherman was asked during a segment if Shanahan would be on the hot seat if the 49ers missed the playoffs in 2026. It’s an absurd question that Sherman rightfully laughed at. 

Sherman blasts hot-seat notion for Shanahan 

#KyleShanahan is NOT MISSING the Playoffs THIS year‼️ Who asked this question? He can LEAD any Franchise pic.twitter.com/zVXw5ymxQU

— Richard Sherman Podcast (@RShermanPodcast) May 27, 2026

“Absolutely not. He wouldn’t even be close. He’d be on an iceberg. He’d be on an absolute iceberg,” said Sherman. “And if he somehow was on the hot seat, there’d be 20 seats in the NFL getting hotter as his gets hotter.

“If he ever got fired, so would they. There are at least 20 teams in the National Football League that would fire their coach that day to have a chance to interview Kyle Shanahan to be their head coach.” 

Sherman is 100% right. It would be insane to think Shanahan would be on the hot seat if the 49ers were to miss the playoffs this upcoming season. 

He’s earned a ton of equity from last season. Missing the playoffs shouldn’t put his job on the line. Now, if he misses it in 2027 as well, then it’s fair game. 

But to fire him or make him feel the heat after one missed playoff appearance is extremely emotional. As Sherman said, the moment Shanahan is let go, plenty of teams will be lining up to hire him. 

And even if Shanahan does go two years in a row without a playoff appearance, it would probably be John Lynch who is the first to go. He will be the scapegoat.

But right now, it’s tough to imagine the 49ers ever cutting ties with Shanahan. For all we know, he has an incredibly long leash with owner Jed York, and rightfully so. 

“I don’t think Jed York would be willing to fire Kyle Shanahan to make him available to other teams. The master class that he just put on this year, losing Bosa, losing Fred Warner, losing Brock Purdy, losing Kittle for a while. And they still won 12 games.” 

“Missing the playoffs would just be negated.”

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