Cardinals’ Kliff Kingsbury on 49ers’ Kyle Shanahan: ‘He’s on the cutting edge of a bunch of things’

The Arizona Cardinals have won eight straight games against the San Francisco 49ers. Their last defeat came at Levi's Stadium in 2014, in Jim Harbaugh's final season with the Niners.

The 49ers have struggled since but have found their identity this season. They currently sit at 7-0 and are one of just two remaining undefeated NFL teams (New England).

Kliff Kingsbury was named the Cardinals head coach on January 8, and his squad will face a 49ers team that is much better than any Arizona has faced since its last loss to them. At the helm of the reform in San Francisco is head coach Kyle Shanahan, who, along with general manager John Lynch, has rebuilt a once talent-deprived roster.

Kingsbury, who will face the revamped 49ers for the first time on Thursday night, discussed Shanahan on Monday.

"I just have a ton of respect for Kyle, watching him through the years," Kingsbury said. "No matter who his quarterback was or his personnel, he adapted to it and was able to move the football. He's on the cutting edge of a bunch of things that you see throughout the NFL now. He kind of was at the front end of that.

"Tremendous offensive line, and it's going to be a huge challenge for our defense."

Kingsbury made quarterback Kyler Murray the No. 1 overall draft pick in April. One spot later, Shanahan and the 49ers made defensive end Nick Bosa the No. 2 overall pick. For much of last season, the feeling was that Bosa would not be there by the time San Francisco selected. He was long thought to be the near-unanimous choice to become the first player drafted.

That was until around the NFL Scouting Combine when Murray's name started to emerge as a possibility for the Cardinals, and Bosa fell into the 49ers' laps.

"He is a tremendous football player," Kingsbury said of Bosa. "High effort, high motor, great personality. You can see those guys are excited for him when he makes plays. He's having a heck of a year."

Kingsbury and the Cardinals did their homework on Bosa during the pre-draft evaluation process. The defensive end has proven to be a difference-maker for San Francisco this season.

"He's changed the entire culture," NFL Network analyst Brian Baldinger said on Monday. "Not of just the defense but of that entire team, and you can feel it. It starts with Nick Bosa, right now. Everybody is playing better on the team, I think, because of what Nick Bosa is doing."

Kingsbury was a Bosa fan heading into the draft, but Murray proved too tempting for the Cardinals to pass up.

"Loved him," Kingsbury said of Bosa. "We got to, I think, have two dinners with him, and he's one of those guys you want on your team, want in your locker room, and plays his tail off. He's as relentless as they come, and a real guy's guy. You can tell all his teammates like him. We had him graded very highly, and San Francisco made a great pick."