Sergio Estrada-USA TODAY Sports
What 49ers’ Kyle Shanahan did to improve as a head coach this offseason
Videos are auto-populated by an affiliate. This site has no control over the videos that appear above.
The San Francisco 49ers offense has been rolling through two weeks of the 2023 NFL season, scoring 30 points in each of their first two games, with opportunities for even more had some plays been executed in Week 2.
At the forefront of the action is head coach Kyle Shanahan, who seems as deep in his bag as ever, and his playcalling has been a significant reason for the 49ers' sustained success early on.
In Week 1, Shanahan conducted the offense to four scoring drives on their first four opportunities, while scoring three times on four drives in the first half against the Los Angeles Rams, with the lone missed chance coming on a series where quarterback
Brock Purdy overthrew an open
Brandon Aiyuk for a potential touchdown.
Now, Shanahan carries two hats in his duties with the 49ers: the offensive coordinator hat calling the plays and the head coaching hat, making the important decisions on fourth downs, while managing the clock and other various duties.
Thus far, it's clear that Shanahan has been thriving in his offensive coordinator hat with how the 49ers offense has been rolling early, but what improvements has the offensive guru made as a head coach?
Speaking to reporters following San Francisco's win over the Rams, Shanahan was asked about improvements he looked to make over the offseason, specifically as a head coach.
The head coach pointed to talent evaluation across the league in order to make the best personnel decisions for free agency and the draft, which are the biggest ways for a team to improve in the offseason.
"I don't know. Usually, in the offseason, we always try to review our tape," Shanahan said. "We review things from around the league to see what to add, see what fits in, spend a lot of the offseason trying to study personnel to add in the Draft or personnel to add in free agency. Those are the biggest parts as a coach that you try to do to make your team better is to try to help out and see who you can add to it to make it better. Sometimes those are real tough decisions that we all spend a lot of time working on."
But Shanahan also pointed to the need for relaxation in the offseason, while looking to get mentally stronger, which involved reading books and going into some self-care techniques.
"Then my biggest thing is trying to relax a little bit more in the offseason because I've learned how long of a grind the season is and how long it goes and how much you've got to get up for each week," Shanahan said. "I really try to get mentally stronger with books and some self-help type things so when you go into the season, you're ready to go."
With so much talk fixated on Shanahan and his responsibilities in football, it's cool to hear the head coach point out the value of self-care and relaxation to mentally prepare for the grueling season ahead.
Nobody's perfect. Did you find a mistake in this article?
Report it.
LISTEN
Facebook Comments
Do not use the comments to notify us of errors in the article. Editors may not see it. Instead, report errors here.
More San Francisco 49ers News
Kyle Shanahan: 49ers still have "got to improve" despite 3-0 start
By Rohan Chakravarthi
Sep 23
The San Francisco 49ers improved to 3-0 on the season after a 30-12 victory over the New York Giants on Thursday Night Football—dominating from the jump and never letting up a two-possession lead after a 17-6 advantage going into halftime.
However, that dominating performance doesn't mean that the 49ers played at their peak, at least according to Kyle Shanahan, who was pleased with his team's play on a tough Thursday night, but still pointed out a couple of improvements to look at going forward.
"Yeah, definitely, [I still think we have some work to do]," Shanahan said. "We did real good, time of possession, I think we had like 40 minutes. I thought our defense played real well. I thought they stepped it up. They started doing that in the second half last
49ers ecstatic about fast 3-0 start but know they can improve
There was a common theme from the San Francisco 49ers when reporters asked about the team's impressive 3-0 start to the season. The locker room is ecstatic about the fast start but also knows they aren't where they want to be just yet.
Last season, the 49ers lost four of their first seven games. The team was 1-2 after three games. So, remaining undefeated through Week 3 this season means a lot.
"That's the goal, and real happy to be 3-0 right now," head coach Kyle Shanahan said. "It's really cool to do it after a Thursday night game. There's not many times in the NFL where you get to enjoy a win more than just that night, so it's always cool when you win on Thursdays.
"I told the guys if they want to win and have a weekend off, we got to earn it, and
Ex-49ers coach Jim Tomsula named Coach of the Year after guiding Rhein Fire to European championship
Former San Francisco 49ers head coach Jim Tomsula has guided the Rhein Fire to a European League of Football championship. The 49ers named Tomsula their head coach in 2015 after the firing of Jim Harbaugh. His tenure lasted just one season as San Francisco went 5-11 that season.
Chip Kelly replaced Tomsula in 2016, who also lasted just one season. Kyle Shanahan has been the 49ers head coach since 2017.
Tomsula went on to serve as the defensive line coach for Washington (2017-19) and the Dallas Cowboys (2020) before being named the new Rhein Fire head coach last year. It was a reunion with the team he coached in 2006, when the Rhein Fire were a part of NFL Europe.
Tomsula guided his European team to a 7-5 record last year. This year, he went 12-0
49ers injury news: Deebo Samuel avoids serious injury, other updates from Kyle Shanahan
San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan jumped on a conference call with reporters on Friday afternoon, the day after the team's 30-12 win over the New York Giants. Shanahan provided several injury updates.
Linebackers Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles and Dre Greenlaw emerged from Thursday night's game with low-ankle sprains. Both are day-to-day. The good news is that players have some extra time off before returning to work on Monday, when the 49ers begin preparing for the Arizona Cardinals.
The only other player who was banged up in the Week 3 contest is wide receiver Deebo Samuel. The 49ers initially feared a rib injury, but
