49ers news: CBS Sports ranks Kyle Shanahan at No. 5

The 49ers turned it around under head coach Kyle Shanahan since 2017, and CBS Sports took notice.

Not long ago, FanSided’s Russell Baxter ranked San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan as the league’s 16th best head coach heading into 2020.

The placement, understandably, wasn’t too popular among Niners fans who felt the 40-year-old Shanahan deserved to be placed much higher, particularly when comparing some of the names Baxter placed higher than No. 16.

But the thing about power rankings and lists of these kinds is they’re entirely objective.

And CBS Sports feels much different about Shanahan in advance of the upcoming season.

CBS Sports’ Sean Wagner-McGough compiled his list of top-10 head coaches this offseason, placing Shanahan right at No. 5:

If Wagner-McGough was basing his list solely on win-loss records, Shanahan’s 23-25 regular-season record wouldn’t be all that impressive. But one has to remember he inherited a two-win team with a substandard roster in 2017, built an offense to his liking and turned that squad into the No. 2-ranked scoring offense three seasons later.

In terms of a complete rebuild, it’s hard to get much better than that with sustainable results.

Yet that’s what Shanahan engineered, getting tremendous production out of players like All-Pro tight end George Kittle and wide receiver Deebo Samuel while creating a dynamic rushing attack featuring a longtime journeyman running back, Raheem Mostert, who was known more for his special teams prowess before last year’s Super Bowl run. If anything, 2019 wasn’t an “all in” year for San Francisco, and the team is still set up for success for a long time.

Why CBS Sports is right about Kyle Shanahan, 49ers

Wins, losses, stats and Super Bowl rings ultimately count the most. And while it’s important to acknowledge all that, it’s also crucial to divulge the reasons why Shanahan won’t suffer the same kind of fate as one of his predecessors, former Niners head coach Jim Harbaugh.

Aside from the notion CEO Jed York won’t make a similar mistake here — hence Shanahan’s recent six-year extension — Shanahan won’t get caught up in a team “cold war” of words. Instead, he gets to the point, as pointed out by Sports Illustrated’s Grant Cohn:

"Shanahan is complicated. He’s nice, but also extremely blunt and honest. Sometimes he comes across as negative, because he doesn’t coddle players. Most modern coaches are coddlers. Shanahan tells players the truth. And he tells the media the truth about his players. From a journalist’s perspective, Shanahan is a gift from God.Most coaches obscure the truth. They say, “I have to look at the film first.”Shanahan never would say that. It’s beneath him."

All those leaks that paralleled the 49ers success early last decade, then followed during the team’s demise? All but gone. Things in Santa Clara are done Shanahan’s way, and players have bought in. It’s why Shanahan deserves to be in the same file as the New England Patriots’ Bill Belichick, the New Orleans Saints’ Sean Payton or the Kansas City Chiefs’ Andy Reid.

Those traits can be just as important as the wins, losses and stats.

Why CBS Sports is wrong about Kyle Shanahan, 49ers

Well, Super Bowls matter. The Pittsburgh Steelers’ Mike Tomlin, Seattle Seahawks’ Pete Carroll and the Philadelphia Eagles’ Doug Pederson all have rings.

Shanahan doesn’t, and he’ll have to hold onto that reputation of “blowing” a Super Bowl, thanks to San Francisco’s meltdown in the fourth quarter against the Chiefs last February.

Granted, Shanahan didn’t give up the 3rd-and-forever play to Chiefs wide receiver Tyreek Hill, nor did he fail to hit a wide-open Kittle on a would-be crucial third-down conversion to likely ice the game for the Niners late. Shanahan didn’t overthrow wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders for a would-be go-ahead touchdown either.

Still, Shanahan’s play-calling late in championship games will carry weight for as long as he doesn’t boast a Super Bowl ring. Even if he winds up receiving one, pundits and critics will say he should have received more earlier in his career.

Perhaps the lack of a Super Bowl win, especially coming off one in which the Niners suffered such a massive collapse, should push Shanahan much further down the list, justifying Baxter’s original assessment and ranking.

All that said, though, even Reid took 20 years to secure his first Super Bowl crown, and his 15-14 playoff record isn’t exactly on par with the No. 1 coach on Wagner-McGough’s list, Belichick (31-12).

Regardless, the 49ers have landed one of the most innovative and effective head coaches in the league right now, and they certainly know it by extending him through 2025.