49ers Kyle Shanahan should be a 2019 Coach of the Year candidate

There should be conversations among the San Francisco 49ers organization for end-of-year awards, especially for the 2019 NFL Coach of the Year, which Kyle Shanahan should receive attention.

Back in Week 3, I brought up the fact San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan should be a candidate for the 2019 NFL Coach of the Year award.

Eight wins and only three losses later, Shanahan’s resume has only gotten stronger. In three years at the helm, he’s amassed 21 victories and 25 losses. Of those 21 victories, 11 have been from this year alone.

It’s interesting to think what this 49ers team could have done with a healthy quarterback last year, or even having quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo for more than just six games in 2017. Shanahan and Garoppolo have developed quite the chemistry over the course of the 2019 season. Though Shanahan has elected to run the ball far more than pass, he’s trusted Garoppolo when he needs to.

Last season, the 49ers ranked near the bottom of almost every category on offense and defense. This year, he has his offense ranked second in points, second in rush yards, fourth in passing net yards, and his defense sits in the top of points and takeaways. It’s been an unforgettable turnaround when both sides of the ball were playing below average and the defense was dead last in turnovers.

Thanks to Shanahan, the Niners are now a respected franchise once again. Shanahan’s presence alone will make free agents come to the Bay Area. There’s a new culture in the locker room, a winning culture. There’s stability within the organization. General manager John Lynch has helped create this atmosphere with Shanahan. It was evident when the 49ers were able to scoop but linebacker Kwon Alexander in the offseason.

This team is believing in themselves and each other. Shanahan is believing in his guys and it shows. He’s trusted Garoppolo to go win games with his arm, something a lot of “experts” said they would never do. Garoppolo has thrown for over 300 yards on three occasions, including a career-high 424 showing against the Arizona Cardinals a few weeks ago.

All three of those high-offensive outings were when Shanahan needed Jimmy G to be the guy. He trusted Garoppolo and got rewarded with wins in each of those games.

Shanahan has the 49ers back in the playoffs for the first time since 2013. Many people expected the team to make the postseason sometime during his tenure in San Francisco, but not a lot figured it would be this early.

It just goes to show, when you have the respect and attention from your team, good things happen.

The NFL Awards should be filled with many 49ers on the ballots. Cornerback Richard Sherman is the 49ers representative for the Walter Payton Man of the Year award. Shanahan should be on the ballot for 2019 NFL Coach of the Year.

And someone who should be on the ballot but evidently wont be in a “quarterback first” league, is tight end George Kittle for the 2019 NFL MVP. 

Shanahan will most likely be up against some tough competition for his award. Baltimore Ravens head coach John Harbaugh has brought his team back to the top of the NFL with the 2019 NFL MVP front-runner, quarterback Lamar Jackson.

And another coach who shouldn’t be overlooked for his accomplishments this season is Buffalo Bills head coach Sean McDermott. Buffalo was in the playoffs two seasons ago, but the last time Bills Mafia saw a 10-win team was back in 1999.

Shanahan admittedly wont be thinking about being a candidate for coach of the year, but he’s got to be extremely proud of how this season has turned out for himself and the organization.

If he can get his squad to win the NFC West and be top spot in the NFC, you can bet he’ll be on the ballot for the 2019 NFL Coach of the Year.