Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
49ers beat writer shares interesting tidbit about Mike Shanahan’s draft influence
Apr 23, 2021 at 8:28 AM
•
Videos are auto-populated by an affiliate. This site has no control over the videos that appear above.
It's pretty safe to assume that Kyle Shanahan's father, longtime NFL head coach Mike Shanahan, has had at least some influence on the quarterback evaluation process leading up to next week's draft. Maybe even a significant influence. Ultimately, it will be Kyle Shanahan's decision, with input from his father, general manager John Lynch, and other team personnel.
Matt Barrows of The Athletic recently
answered questions from fans and was asked about Mike Shanahan's influence on the San Francisco 49ers' looming decision.
"Put it this way: Earlier this month, I called Mike to talk about his quarterback philosophy in general and to discuss his 2012 quarterback search in Washington," Barrows responded. "When he called back, the 49ers headquarters phone number registered on my phone. He was calling from Kyle's office."
Who knows how much time the elder Shanahan has been spending inside the team's headquarters? Mike Shanahan still spends much of his free time reviewing game film and has weekly calls with his son to talk football. Kyle Shanahan's offense is heavily influenced by his father's, so it's safe to assume that Mike Shanahan's opinions remain highly valued by everyone inside the building.
Mike Shanahan won three Super Bowls during his time as a coach. One was as San Francisco's offensive coordinator, winning with Hall of Fame quarterback Steve Young. He went on to win two more Super Bowls as the Denver Broncos' head coach with another Hall of Famer in John Elway.
Mike Shanahan being in the building during the crucial evaluation process could be telling.
"I don't think he was there to drop off cookies," Barrows continued. "... So, I suspect he's one of the people with heavy input on this decision."
While the retired coach didn't offer any hints on the 49ers' current quarterback search, Barrows did reach out to four agents and sources to get their opinions on who the team might select at No. 3 overall. All four picked quarterback Justin Fields of Ohio State.
Facebook Comments
More San Francisco 49ers News
No Huddle Podcast: 49ers Offseason Musings With Legendary Columnist Mike Silver
(Episode 330) — Legendary columnist Mike Silver joins the show to discuss the Brandon Aiyuk trade rumors and trade value, priorities in the secondary, Mike's book, and more! You can read Mike's work at the San Francisco Chronicle.
The audio for the show is embedded above. Remember to subscribe!
You can watch the interview below.
You can listen to the latest "No Huddle Podcast" episode above, from
Mike Silver on how Deebo Samuel's contract might be the starting point for a Brandon Aiyuk extension
With the 2024 NFL Draft less than a week away, it's common for the rumor mill to start churning, especially with players who are actively seeking a new contract. It was just two short years ago that WR Deebo Samuel requested a trade from the San Francisco 49ers prior to draft day, only for cooler heads to prevail and eventually agree to a new deal.
Now, it's WR Brandon Aiyuk's turn to try and get paid and rumors surfaced over the weekend that he too would request to be dealt. While that report was quickly shot down by his agent, there's still a lot of discussion about Aiyuk's future and if other teams will come calling on draft night.
Legendary columnist Mike Silver joined
Breaking down the 49ers drafts under John Lynch and Kyle Shanahan
We are less than one week away from the NFL Draft, and the San Francisco 49ers have their first day-one draft pick since 2021. That was the year they selected QB Trey Lance number three overall. The trade-up to get Lance cost the 49ers their first-round picks in 2022 and 2023. And now that they are back in the first round, at pick 31, fans are anxious to see what the team does with the pick. And with former assistant GM, Adam Peters, now in Washington, it will be interesting to see how well the 49ers draft without Peters in the room.
We looked back at the seven drafts GM John Lynch and Head Coach Kyle Shanahan have led to see what information we could pull from those drafts. There were plenty of hits, plenty of misses, and a few surprises along the way. The draft picks are
Brock Purdy hopes Kyle Shanahan makes addition to 49ers playbook
San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy threw for a franchise-record 4,280 yards last season, leading the team to the Super Bowl and earning his first Pro Bowl selection. He held onto the football 39 times on the ground, rushing for 144 yards and scoring twice. This marked a significant improvement over his rookie 2022 campaign when he had 22 carries for 13 yards and a score.
Purdy further displayed his athleticism during the 49ers' playoff game against the Detroit Lions last season, helping engineer a comeback victory while rushing for 48 yards on five carries.
On Tuesday morning, Purdy joined the "Pat McAfee Show," acknowledging that he believes he can contribute more rushing yards if called upon. However, that decision rests with head coach Kyle Shanahan,
