A top NFL insider proposed that the San Francisco 49ers trade away head coach Kyle Shanahan to an NFC rival.
Last season, the 49ers handed Kyle Shanahan and general manager John Lynch contract extensions through the 2027 campaign. But with the defending NFC champions likely to miss out on the postseason, some wonder if the 49ers will part ways with the 44-year-old head coach.
The 49ers are 69-58-0 under Shanahan, with four NFC Championship Game appearances and two Super Bowl berths. But the 49ers are about to miss the playoffs for the first time since 2020, and Shanahan still carries that whole “can’t win the big one” label.
Speaking on “The Rich Eisen Show”, NFL insider Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk suggested that the 49ers trade Kyle Shanahan to the Chicago Bears, who relieved Matt Eberflus of his duties last week:
“I feel like Shanahan and the 49ers are getting close to the point where they would benefit mutually from a fresh start…If you can get Shanahan and join him at the hip with Caleb Williams, are you kidding me?…
This year just feels like it’s coming to an end from a standpoint of the nucleus of players that they have there. And you never know what’s happening behind the scenes. I mention the 49ers because it’s been 10 years or so since they had Jim Harbaugh going into what was the fourth year of his tenure there. The first three years had been very successful … We reported at the time that the 49ers were close to trading Harbaugh to the Cleveland Browns.”
It’s very rare for an NFL team to “trade” a head coach, but there are two notable examples. In 2002, the Oakland Raiders sent Jon Gruden to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for two firsts and a pair of second-round picks, along with $8 million.
In 2023, the Denver Broncos acquired ex-New Orleans Saints head coach Sean Payton (he resigned in 2022 but was still under contract) and a 2024 third-round pick in exchange for 2023 first and 2024 second-rounders.
49ers Would Get Massive Haul For Kyle Shanahan
As much criticism as Shanahan gets over his failure to win a Super Bowl, his work with the likes of Kirk Cousins (in Washington), Matt Ryan (Atlanta), Jimmy Garoppolo and Brock Purdy (San Francisco) can’t be overlooked.
He’s a magician with quarterbacks, and Shanahan would easily maximize the talents of an offense with Caleb Williams, DJ Moore and Rome Odunze.
