Why 49ers Kyle Shanahan deserves coach of the year consideration

The 49ers aren’t likely to get consideration for any of the prestigious player awards despite finishing the regular season with the top seed in the loaded NFC.

But they should be in the mix for coach of the year, thanks to the work of Kyle Shanahan, who has fingerprints all over San Francisco’s 13-3 campaign during his third season at the helm.

“I truly believe that he’s the best in the game,” right tackle Mike McGlinchey said. “I think all the attention he gets, he hates, but he also deserves, because he’s an unbelievable coach, unbelievable leader.”

Shanahan, who also serves as offensive coordinator and has final say on key personnel decisions, will at least be among the top candidates when the coach of the year award is announced at the annual NFL Honors show the night before the Super Bowl in early February.

Many consider Ravens coach John Harbaugh or Sean Payton of the Saints as the other deserving candidates. Baltimore and New Orleans both had outstanding regular seasons. They finished 14-2 and 13-3, respectively. Though both are coming off playoff appearances in 2018, which might not play well given how narrative can often drive the award.

Compared to Ravens, Saints

The 49ers, after all, are coming off 6-10 and 4-12 records the past two seasons. They were among the worst teams in the NFL since hiring Jim Tomsula in 2015 after Jim Harbaugh’s departure, then going 2-14 under Chip Kelly before Shanahan and general manager John Lynch were brought following the 2016 season. Expectations were far lower entering the year for San Francisco than they were surrounding Baltimore and New Orleans.

Harbaugh is a leading candidate because of how the Ravens designed their team to fit the unique skills quarterback Lamar Jackson, the overwhelming favorite for MVP. Payton managed to keep the Saints elite while Drew Brees missed five games with a thumb injury. New Orleans went 5-0 with backup Teddy Bridgewater as the starter.

Shanahan’s team, meanwhile, had the worst record in 2018 of any team to make the playoffs in 2019. And the 49ers did it as the No. 1 seed in the NFC at 13-3, often having their best performances in their most meaningful games.

“I think everyone always talks about what a play-calling genius he is, what a guru he is, and all that kind of stuff, which he definitely is,” fullback Kyle Juszczyk said. “But the other part of it is what a great leader he is.”

49ers defensive players have also recognized Shanahan’s knack for understanding the other side of the ball.

“I think it’s cool that he could call out anything,” defensive end Nick Bosa said. “Special teams, offense, defense, he just knows exactly where everybody’s supposed to be at all times. So it’s just cool to have a head coach in that aspect, not just solely (focused) on offense.”

San Francisco’s three losses all came during the final moments -- an overtime field goal by Seattle, a walk-off kick in regulation in Baltimore, and a last-second touchdown from Julio Jones versus Atlanta. Those three defeats came by 14 points combined. The 49ers went the entire regular season without losing by more than one possession.

The Saints had two losses to the Rams and Falcons by 18 and 17 points, respectively. Baltimore lost at home to the Browns, 40-25, a week before San Francisco beat Cleveland 31-3.

And with the exception of the loss to the Seahawks in November, which included a shanked field goal from backup kicker Chase McLaughlin in overtime that would have extended the team’s winning streak to nine games to begin the year, the 49ers won all the games they had to have.

49ers took key wins over rivals

They went to the two toughest places to play in the NFC and escaped with last-second victories. They beat Payton’s Saints, 48-46, in one of the most entertaining regular season games in years that allowed San Francisco to get home field while New Orleans will host the Vikings on Wild Card weekend.

The 49ers finished the season by going to Seattle, where they hadn’t won since 2011, and earned the NFC West crown and top seed by getting revenge on the Seahawks. Getting the No. 1 seed, home field and a first-round bye wouldn’t have been possible without both of those victories.

They played during the first half of the season without their two starting tackles, former first-round draft picks Joe Staley and Mike McGlinchey, and went 4-0. They lost their most indispensable offensive player in tight end George Kittle and managed a 36-26 victory over the Arizona Cardinals after falling behind 16-0 in the first half (Kittle also missed the loss to Seattle).

Juszczyk went down for four games and the league’s second-ranked rushing attack stayed afloat thanks to Shanahan’s play calling and scheme design.

“(The coaching staff) all did such a great job to put everybody in the best position possible to succeed,” right guard Mike Person said. “That’s not to say that they couldn’t have succeeded with what we normally do, but that’s the NFL. You need to adapt and adjust. The way that they can do that on the fly. It’s pretty special to be around.”

Then, of course, there’s quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, who finished among the top eight quarterbacks in completion percentage (69.1, fourth), yards per attempt (8.4, third), passer rating (102.0, eighth) and touchdown passes (27th, tied for fifth). It was Garoppolo’s first full season as a starter after missing the final 13 games of 2018 with a torn ACL.

It took ramping up Garoppolo’s workload as the season wore on. The first half of the year, against worse competition, Garoppolo worked mostly as a game manager, allowing San Francisco’s top-ranked defense and potent rushing attack do the heavy lifting.

Then Garoppolo got going late in the year, culminating in his 349-yard, four-touchdown performance in New Orleans in which he outdueled Brees. Garoppolo finished with passer ratings of at least 110 in five of the final seven games.

“It just goes to show that there’s a method behind (Shanahan’s) madness,” Person said.