This Is Kyle Shanahan’s Best Work, and His Best Chance to Win a Super Bowl

This edition of the 49ers isn’t the most talented of Shanahan’s tenure, but they showed once again Sunday night they have what it takes to win it all.

49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan somehow has his injury-ridden team one win away from the NFC’s No. 1 seed. / Sergio Estrada-Imagn Images

Kyle Shanahan has a vision. A dream to raise the Lombardi Trophy. It’s something he’s worked for over 21 NFL seasons and never achieved. 

But in this, his 21st attempt, Shanahan has the best hand he’s ever been dealt. 

This certainly isn’t the best 49ers team he’s coached. Even after beating the Bears in a 42–38, high-octane shootout on Sunday Night Football to improve to 12–4, there’s no case to be made that this is the most talented roster he’s overseen. 

In 2019, San Francisco went 13–3 and cruised to the NFC’s top seed. It had a hoard of superstars, including linebacker Fred Warner, tight end George Kittle, defensive end Joey Bosa, defensive tackles DeForest Buckner and Arik Armstead, rookie wideout Deebo Samuel and corner Richard Sherman, among others. In the playoffs, the 49ers dispatched the Vikings and Packers by a combined score of 64–30. In the Super Bowl, they led the Chiefs 20–10 with under seven minutes remaining. 

Then Patrick Mahomes happened. Final score: Chiefs 31, 49ers 20. 

Four years later, the Niners once again were the NFC’s top seed. The roster was loaded once again with left tackle Trent Williams, running back Christian McCaffrey, corner Charvarius Ward, receiver Brandon Aiyuk and the holdovers from 2019 in Warner, Kittle, Bosa and Samuel. They toppled the Packers and survived the Lions with a furious second-half comeback in the NFC title game. And, once again, they met Kansas City in the Super Bowl and had a double-digit lead. 

And, once again, he was done in by Mahomes magic. Final score: Chiefs 25, 49ers 22 in overtime.

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These 49ers don’t hold up against those teams on paper. Bosa and Warner are out with long-term lower-body injuries. Brock Purdy has played in only eight games this season. Kittle has missed six games as well and has just 599 receiving yards in his age-32 campaign. Aiyuk is on the roster but hasn’t (and will not) play a snap. In the offseason, San Francisco lost guard Aaron Banks, linebacker Dre Greenlaw, safety Talanoa Hufanga and Ward in free agency.

This isn’t Shanahan’s best chance because of the team. It’s his best chance because the NFL is wide open in a way it usually isn’t. Only the Rams and Seahawks could make an argument as being better than the 49ers. However, San Francisco beat both of them at their homes. 

In the AFC, there’s no dominant team. And Mahomes, Shanahan’s bogeyman in recent years, won’t be arriving at the summit to greet him this time around should the Niners scale the mountain. 

So, the coast is clear. 

For Shanahan, this is his master class. The 49ers have no right being here. When the Pro Bowl rosters were announced, none of San Francisco’s defensive players made the team. On offense, four earned the honor with one being fullback Kyle Juszczyk, who came into Sunday playing only 45% of the offensive snaps. 

Yet with Purdy and Mac Jones sharing starting quarterback duties and the receiving corps featuring a revolving door of Jauan Jennings, Ricky Pearsall, Demarcus Robinson and Kendrick Bourne (who have combined for 1,939 receiving yards, or 230 more than Seattle’s Jaxon Smith-Njigba), the 49ers have 12 wins. 

How much has Shanahan done to scheme up victories? McCaffrey is averaging 3.8 yards per carry. The two leading pass catchers on the team entering Sunday were McCaffrey and Kittle. The 49ers were the only team to have a running back and tight end atop that statistical category coming into Week 17. And when Mac Jones had to start eight games with Purdy out due to turf toe, San Francisco went 5–3, including a key Week 5 win at SoFi Stadium over the Rams.

On defense, San Francisco is dead last with 18 sacks. The leading tacklers on the unit are Dee Winters and Tatum Bethune, sixth- and seventh-round picks from 2023 and ’24, respectively. The secondary is heavily reliant on corners Upton Stout, Renardo Green and Darrell Luter Jr., all on their rookie contracts. 

The Niners are one victory away from not only winning the NFC West, a division that arguably holds the league’s three top teams, but also having home-field advantage throughout the postseason. Oh, and the Super Bowl is at Levi’s Stadium.

For more than two decades, Shanahan has worked toward his dream. A moment of unparalleled professional happiness, standing with the trophy that has cruelly eluded him a few times before. 

Shanahan has a dream. If he can win in Week 18, he won’t have to leave home to realize it. 

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