49ers Fans Can Afford to Get Excited After Kyle Shanahan Hire

The hiring of Kyle Shanahan as head coach gives 49ers fans reason to be excited heading into what is likely to be a long rebuild for the franchise.

The 49ers only won two games in 2016, but they have already scored a victory in 2017.

San Francisco undoubtedly emerged with the best candidate from this round of coaching hires, making the appointment of former Falcons offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan on Monday following Atlanta’s devastating loss to the Patriots in Super Bowl LI.

Shanahan is the only HC of those hired to have coached in the playoffs this postseason and his hugely impressive numbers as a coordinator speak for themselves.

San Francisco 49ers /

San Francisco 49ers

In his nine seasons as an OC, Shanahan has had six of his offenses finish in the top 10 in total yards.

He has also had two 4,000-yard passers, with Matt Ryan achieving the feat twice under his tutelage and Matt Schaub reaching the mark during Shanahan’s time with the Texans.

Yet, for all the hype surrounding Shanahan, many will expect this marriage to end in tears.

Shanahan’s tenure with the Cleveland Browns ended in acrimony as he resigned over a mandate from the front office that Johnny Manziel be the starter.

And, with the 49ers’ history for internal dysfunction, it is no surprise that some do not believe this will work.

The Niners will likely be hoping the tensions that have previously existed in the building will be a thing of the past with the hiring of general manager John Lynch, whom Shanahan has already expressed his confidence in.

“I could not ask for a better partner than John Lynch,” Shanahan said, via the team’s website. “He is a man who certainly has personal knowledge of what championship organizations look like. John and I look forward to establishing a strong culture that will serve as our foundation for constructing this team.”

Shanahan’s opening remarks must be taken with a pinch of salt but they suggest the working relationship between the new head coach and the front office will initially be a smooth one.

With no personnel experience, Lynch’s initial task will be to ensure Shanahan and the experienced heads in the front office are able to work in harmony.

The doubts over Lynch’s lack of experience remain. But those should have been allayed somewhat with the hiring of a rising star executive in the form of Adam Peters as vice-president of player personnel.

Peters, who had previously been the Denver Broncos’ director of college scouting, has been described as a savant and someone who will be in contention for GM jobs in a couple of years.

Broncos FO guy to me: "Good luck to the 49ers keeping Adam Peters for more than two years. He's a savant. He'll be a GM soon." Well then.
— Vincent Frank (@VincentFrankNFL) January 31, 2017

More experienced executives may yet join the 49ers but, with a talent such as Peters tasked with helping bridge Lynch’s gap in personnel knowledge, fans should feel more at ease about their new GM.

And for some of the 49ers’ following, who believe a link to the glory days under Eddie DeBartolo Jr. is important, the words of Steve Young endorsing both Shanahan — a ball boy for the Niners when his father Mike Shanahan was George Seifert’s offensive coordinator — and Lynch will be significant.

Young, per the San Jose Mercury News, said in an interview with KNBR 680 that Lynch will help the 49ers get back to the roots of their original dynasty:

"John is a guy that feels like we’re getting back to that rootedness and I’m happy. Kyle is one generation away from Mike and he gets that as well. John Lynch is one of the best guys I know. Great human being, fundamentally, as a communicator and as a person. He’s really a phenomenal guy. We’re going to make him an honorary Niner. He’s not, but he could be."

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There will be a lot of positivity surrounding the 49ers in the coming weeks, but it should be tempered by the realisation that this is a team a while away from competing in what will be a long rebuild.

It is unrealistic to expect an immediate significant turnaround but the 49ers now have the brightest young mind in coaching who has links to the franchise’s glory days and a widely respected former player as GM with a talented executive working underneath him.

Next: 49ers Joe Montana vs. Patriots Tom Brady: Revisiting the GOAT Argument after Super Bowl LI

Results may take time, but the Niners have a structure in place that fans can be excited about.