Kyle Shanahan was universally looked upon as one of the best coaches in the entire NFL when he woke up on Super Bowl morning.
But by the time he when to sleep that night – if he ever did – he had many new doubters who questioned whether he could ever get the San Francisco 49ers over the hump and actually win the big one.
You can count FOX Sports Radio’s Rob Parker as one of those doubters…
“I think he [Kyle Shanahan] should be fired … I know people are going to be like ‘YOU CAN’T FIRE THE COACH, HE’S BEEN IN THE SUPER BOWL TWICE IN THE LAST FOUR YEARS!’… YES, you can. Sometimes you take the unknown over the known,” Parker said on The Odd Couple.
“What we know is Kyle Shanahan is a CHOKER. We know that. You can’t go ‘WELL, HE HASN’T HAD THE QUARTERBACK, THAT’S WHY HE HASN’T WON!’… He’s had double-digit leads in three Super Bowls. He was good enough to get you to the fourth quarter with seven minutes to go and a double-digit lead. It’s not like their offense isn’t moving and he doesn’t have a quarterback; he’s not making the right calls to close the games.”
Easy fix pic.twitter.com/uVxfbyCvnl
— Darth Holiday (@darth_holiday) February 14, 2024
“All he is is Marty Schottenheimer with a better haircut. That’s ALL he is. Marty Schottenheimer got run out of San Diego for the same exact thing. He couldn’t get you over the hump. Marv Levy is 98 years old and is probably saying to himself ‘I’M FINALLY OFF THE HOOK!’ He lost four straight Super Bowls and he’s saying ‘MY GOD, THANK YOU!’…”
“Tony Dungy couldn’t get over the top with Tampa Bay. He had a great team; defensively they were unbelievable, but they could not win and get to the Super Bowl. Guess what they did? They fired Tony Dungy, hired Jon Gruden, and WON THE NEXT YEAR.”
“Here’s my big plan… Fire Kyle Shanahan and hire Bill Belichick. He’s sitting there! He will get you over the top! Bill Belichick is the way for the 49ers to finally win again. Belichick knows how to win, he knows how to close games out, that’s why it’s worth making the move.”
“Bill Belichick is known for defense. The reason they haven’t been able to win is A), they don’t run the ball when you need it, and B) their defense has given up double-digit leads in the final ten minutes in three Super Bowls. Bill Belichick is the right guy.”
“You can’t be afraid to hold on. The nucleus of teams falls apart and you don’t have ten years to make a run. Your run might be over before you know it so you need to capitalize on it, and Kyle Shanahan has proven that he can’t get it done. This isn’t an overreaction to one chance at the Super Bowl, this is now three chances.”
“One as an offensive coordinator where he blew a 25-point lead in the second half, and two others where he had a ten-point lead, went away from the run, and didn’t know how to close the game.”
“I’m convinced now and more than ever that Kyle Shanahan will NEVER win a Super Bowl. Not with this team and this situation. He might have to be Andy Reid, go somewhere else, and have Patrick Mahomes fall into your lap, and then maybe you might win.”
“But if it’s about Kyle Shanahan making the right moves, I have zero confidence in him at this point. I would NOT keep him,” Parker concluded.
Parker is certainly being too harsh.
Shanahan’s three Super Bowl losses (two as head coach) do not reflect good on him – at all … Having said that, his teams were one play away from winning each one of those games.
But they didn’t … And that has to count for something.
49ers choked again fire Kyle Shanahan I wasn't never sold on him as a head coach 3rd time he blew a 10+ lead smfh pic.twitter.com/B6l0vTswgO
— Jamie Mabone (@MaboneJamie) February 12, 2024
His idea of replacing Shanahan with Belichick is an interesting one.
However, Shanahan is obviously an enormous reason why the Niners are so dangerous. You can’t discount his impact just because the roster is so loaded (same for the Brock Purdy haters).
It’s well-known that Shanahan runs one of the most complicated offenses in the entire league. To discredit him or put all the blame on him for the Super Bowl “chokes” would be extremely unfair.
Kyle Shanahan's third Super Bowl appearance. with the lead and you lose, and then you throw Steve Wilks up under the bus to make it his fault and fire him. I hope the players see it for what you are. John Lynch, you shouldn't let it happen. pic.twitter.com/B5sM1UhsiI
— TBreezy ♠️♠️🎙️ (@ValleyDawg43) February 15, 2024
Shanahan made headlines by abruptly firing defensive coordinator Steve Wilks after only one season.
San Francisco’s defense was dominant in the first half of the Super Bowl before cracking in the second.
To fire the respected-Wilks means there was clearly some dysfunction behind the scenes.
Kyle Shanahan fired a guy who would’ve had his defense force a punt to get FG to win it in overtime, if it weren’t for Shanahan’s own decision to take the ball first. But sure, fire him. https://t.co/xvBCeKCpRk pic.twitter.com/yhvB0NK211
— × (@accountnofive) February 14, 2024
What are your thoughts on Parker’s suggestion?
Do you think Shanahan deserves to be fired?
Realistically, there is a zero-percent chance of that actually happening … As a matter of fact, there’s probably a negative-percent chance of it happening.
Having said that, how much of the blame do you put on Shanahan???
🔊@Howaboutafresca: “People want to fire Kyle Shanahan, and it’s absolutely insane. Realize what it is to go to two Super Bowls. That’s a hard thing to do. It’s not a birthright.” pic.twitter.com/gBXh8KvXed
— FOX Sports Radio (@FoxSportsRadio) February 14, 2024