It happens to most new head coaches, particularly when they're brought in as bright, young up-and-comers. The sheen can dull quickly.
The 49ers don't have to look far to see what I mean. Los Angeles Rams coach Sean McVay was the toast of the league in 2018 while leading his team to a Super Bowl appearance. McVay was young, charismatic and was thought to have the play-calling chops needed to become the next coaching dynasty.
But McVay was badly outschemed when Bill Belichick reminded him of what a first rodeo can be like. Belichick's New England Patriots humbled McVay in the Super Bowl to the tune of a 13-3 throttling. McVay's once-powerful offense managed just 260 total yards and the Rams fell back to the pack with a 9-7 finish to miss the playoffs in 2019.
That's the flashpoint Kyle Shanahan finds himself following up on. He can either cement himself as a coaching institution, an opportunity McVay may have missed, or he can join his NFC West counterpart as a once up-and-comer who could steer into an excellent regular season before losing the Super Bowl.
"Kyle understands, I think he was taught this from his dad (former NFL coach Mike Shanahan) and his own experience, it's something Bill Walsh used to always talk about. The best coaches are great teachers and the best coaches also have to be able to adapt and react and be proactive on their feet," general manager John Lynch said. "And I think Kyle is as good as I've seen in doing that. And they quickly made a plan once we started to understand that a traditional offseason wasn't going to be possible. They adjusted, and those meetings, I sat in on a lot of them this offseason, it was a great opportunity for myself and our scouts, but most of all, for the players."
