Did Kyle Shanahan do enough to earn NFL Coach of the Year?
The Vegas oddsmakers peg Philadelphia Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni (+125) as the betting favorite but Shanahan (+200) isn't far behind. The 49ers have withstood significant injuries to their top two quarterbacks and are still rolling into the playoffs with a 10-game win streak.
On the latest episode of Audacy Sports' "49ers Webzone: No Huddle" podcast, hosts Zain Naqvi, Al Sacco and Brian Renick laid out the case for Shanahan.
"I wanna give him his flowers," Naqvi said. "I have been critical of Kyle. I have been very vocal about that on this show. The job that he's done this year, to me he's owned firm Coach of the Year. He has taken this team, I think, and done his job. I think this is the best team that he's coached and the best job that he's done. He's taken a team that was dead in the water twice this season, brought 'em back from the depths and he's put them in position to potentially win a championship. What other coach in the league is gonna do that for you?"
Shanahan is renowned as an offensive guru and his system has finally been unlocked with Christian McCaffrey and Brock Purdy. Over the past three games, the 49ers are averaging a whopping 37.3 points per contest.
It doesn't hurt to have arguably the league's best defense and respected coordinator DeMeco Ryans, who is likely to be a head coach next season. But Shanahan's ability to get his team playing to his specifications is undeniable. The 49ers weathered the storm this season and are the healthiest they've been since training camp.
"He shot himself up into the upper echelon this year," Sacco said. "He needed to this year. I don't think that's unfair to say, and he did. The only 49ers head coaches with multiple 13-win seasons are Shanahan, (Bill Walsh) and George Seifert."
Sure, that 13-win mark is aided by a 17th game. But there's no denying that Shanahan has a legit chance to bring the 49ers on a deep third postseason run for the third time in his six seasons at the helm.
