Which Offensive System is Better: Sean McVay or Kyle Shanahan?

The Los Angeles Rams and San Francisco 49ers share a deep rivalry, which may take a turn based on the performance of a Seattle Seahawks quarterback

Oct 30, 2022; Inglewood, California, USA; Los Angeles Rams head coach Sean McVay meets with San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan following the game at SoFi Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images | Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

The Sean McVay and Kyle Shanahan rivalry is so complex, with it being propped up by the fact that the players representing the teams they coach hate each other, that everything between the two franchises gets put under evaluation.

Considering both men are legacies, with McVay's grandfather John having built a Golden dynasty with Bill Walsh and the 49ers, and Shanahan's father Mike having won two Super Bowls as head coach of the Denver Broncos, there's a lot of history, especially when both men are close in age, used to work together in Washington, and are considered offensive gurus.

So when ESPN's Dan Graziano starts to ask questions about the quarterbacks in the NFL and Sam Darnold comes up, how Darnold performs in 2025 could indicate who has the superior offensive system, McVay or Shanahan.

"What happens if the Sam Darnold resurrection wasn't real?"

"The somewhat tepid market for Darnold in free agency indicates that there was a fair bit of skepticism around the league about the sustainability of his breakout 2024 season," wrote Graziano.

"Seattle got a pretty nice deal -- three years, $100.5 million and just $37.5 million guaranteed -- and if Darnold does play the way he did in Minnesota, it'll look like a massive steal. If Darnold reverts to the jittery, turnover-prone ways of his early career, Seattle is likely in for a rough campaign. But at least the Seahawks aren't committed to him beyond this season."

"Drew Lock and third-round rookie Jalen Milroe are the other options on the roster if Darnold falters. As of now, coach Mike Macdonald has been very clear Darnold is the starter and that it would take an injury to change that. Expect Darnold to get the year, or at least the bulk of it, to prove that 2024 was not a fluke."

Darnold's resurrection was very real. We all literally saw it unfold. Well some could say that's because he had Justin Jefferson and they would be right, Darnold also had Justin Jefferson in a McVay offense under Kevin O'Connell.

So if he goes to Seattle, a team with a plethora of weapons, including Jaxon Smith-Njigba, and fails, one may have to question if that's due to offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak's offense, a system that is Shanahan-based.

Darnold spent 2023 with the 49ers, so he should know how to run Kubiak's system so which leads to a new question. If Darnold doesn't come close to looking as good as he did in Minnesota, is it the system? If so, that's one more notch to McVay.

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