The San Francisco 49ers are not where they wanted to be after starting the season with lofty Super Bowl aspirations. Exiting their bye week with a 4-4 record, the team faces a challenging slate of games ahead. This weekend, they aim to beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Raymond James Stadium and secure their second consecutive win for the first time this season. Following that, the 49ers will take on the Seattle Seahawks, Green Bay Packers, and Buffalo Bills. We'll learn a lot about head coach Kyle Shanahan's squad during this defining stretch of games.
NFL analyst Brian Baldinger joined Bay Area radio station 95.7 The Game on Tuesday morning to offer an honest assessment of Shanahan's performance in the season's first half and explain why the 2024 campaign has been challenging for the coach.
Baldinger believes this year has been particularly stressful for Shanahan for several reasons, including recovering from a Super Bowl loss, dealing with offseason contract uncertainties with star players, and managing multiple injuries. Notably, last season's NFL Offensive Player of the Year, running back Christian McCaffrey, has missed the entire first half of the season due to Achilles tendinitis, and wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk is lost for the season after suffering a torn ACL and MCL.
"I bet this thing has been really tough on him," Baldinger said. "You make the change at defense coordinator (with Nick Sorensen), but the defensive line isn't what it once was, as far as just talent. And now, you want this defense coordinator just to fix things, and you're playing all these rookies in the secondary right now. I think it's been a tough year on him."
Baldinger points out that the 49ers struggled last year before the bye week but surged in the second half of the season, leaving room for hope that this year's squad could experience a similar turnaround.
"That's what I'm looking for right now," Baldinger continued. "I think they're in a position right here, the schedule is going to remain tough. Obviously, the division is only going to get tougher the way Arizona is playing and the way the Rams are playing right now. So you're going to have a lot of tough division games.
"But I just think it's been stressful for Kyle. We've seen a lot of teams just go in the tank and just basically fall apart after Super Bowl losses. They're still right in the middle of it. Probably not with the record that you expect the 49ers to have, but considering all the stuff that has happened, the fact that they're still relevant, big game this weekend on the road, got a lot of work yet to do, I'd say that."
You can listen to Baldinger's entire interview below.