SF 49ers: 4 assistant coaches who could be gone in 2021
By Peter Panacy
No. 2: SF 49ers Quarterbacks Coach Shane Day
One could make a logical argument the Niners quarterback room hasn’t exactly evolved since the 2019 departure of former quarterbacks coach Rich Scangarello to the Denver Broncos offensive coordinator job under their head coach, Vic Fangio.
Scangarello didn’t last long in Denver, of course. But his replacement in San Francisco, current quarterbacks coach Shane Day, hasn’t exactly seen the budding of the SF 49ers’ own quarterbacks in Scangarello’s wake.
There are a lot of X-factors in all this, and each of the Niners’ quarterbacks — Jimmy Garoppolo, Nick Mullens and C.J. Beathard — all bear some responsibility for their own development, mistakes and abilities.
None have exactly shown, however, the ability to deal with pressure, and some of the decision-making processes from each have been questionable, at best, over the last two seasons.
Mullens is the key case study, as his 2018 finish under Scangarello was exceptional enough to prompt other teams around the league to inquire about trading for the quarterback. In 2020 under Day, however, Mullens’ decline led to a league-worst 3.7 interception percentage before he finally suffered a season-ending elbow injury in Week 15.
Perhaps San Francisco would be wise to shake things up here, too, and move on from Day in 2021.