Marcellus Wiley: Kyle Shanahan making Jimmy Garoppolo a scapegoat as 49ers prepare to draft replacement

Everyone is eagerly trying to figure out which quarterback will be selected by the San Francisco 49ers with the No. 3 overall pick. Will it be Justin Fields, Trey Lance, or the less-popular choice of Mac Jones? Whatever the decision, it means the end of Jimmy Garoppolo's time with the Niners is inching closer. The veteran quarterback is expected to remain with the team this season, as head coach Kyle Shanahan and quarterbacks coach Rich Scangarello get the incoming rookie up to speed.

Marcellus Wiley, a former NFL defensive end, made it known this week that he feels that replacing Garoppolo is a mistake. He believes the quarterback is being made a scapegoat for San Francisco's disappointing six-win campaign in 2020. The Speak for Yourself host went on a rant, declaring that the wrong person is being blamed for the team not living up to expectations.

Wiley calls drafting a quarterback to replace Garoppolo a "backward move" for the organization.

"Jimmy G, who made Kyle Shanahan as a head coach, is now going to be made the scapegoat, but who is Kyle Shanahan?" Wiley told his co-host, Emmanuel Acho. "Who is Kyle Shanahan without that last name? Who is Kyle Shanahan without Jimmy G?"

Wiley points to Garoppolo's regular-season record of 22-8 as a starter under Shanahan.

"You're overall, just a losing head coach," the host continued. "Even with Jimmy G trying to help you out, Coach Shanahan, you're still not good enough. Do you want to know why? Because Shanahan, in his first two years, won 10 games total, absolute, combined. And then Jimmy G comes in that second year; they're 1-10 ... flying in from Foxborough is Jimmy GQ to save the day and potentially save his job. Certainly, his reputation, Mr. Kyle Shanahan.

"Then all of a sudden in that third year, first year as a full-time starter once Jimmy GQ is in the building, guess what they do. They go to the Super Bowl with Jimmy GQ."

While he has proven to be a winner when he is on the field, one of the biggest concerns surrounding Garoppolo has been his availability. The quarterback has missed 23 games over the past three seasons, including missing 10 games in 2020 due to ankle injuries.

While the host acknowledges the historic number of injuries that plagued the roster last season, he feels Shanahan is deflecting the blame toward his quarterback.

"Kyle Shanahan, stop trying to buy yourself some time by drafting another quarterback that you need to groom when you just traded for a quarterback that took you to a Super Bowl," Wiley added. "So, to me, this is a lot of displaced aggression, meaning, 'I'm mad at the wrong thing.' Or this is a situation that simply is just classic deflection. 'Oh, I've got issues. People don't really want to look at my losing overall coaching record, the fact that I'm really not that good without Jimmy G.'"