Kyle Shanahan's critics overlook this 1 reason why 49ers won't fire him

Kyle Shanahan is catching heat amid the 49ers' struggles this season, but there's a plainly obvious reason why the franchise won't show him the door anytime soon.

The aftermath of the San Francisco 49ers' heartbreaking Week 11 home loss to the Seattle Seahawks did no favors for head coach Kyle Shanahan.

With three fourth-quarter collapses to NFC West rivals under his belt already this season, Shanahan is understandably feeling the heat from fans and the Bay Area media alike.

In many ways, it's deserved.

The Niners still boast one of the NFL's most talented rosters despite plenty of injury issues. And the offense still ranks in the top five within plenty of significant categories, too. That said, a 5-5 record beyond the halfway point of 2024 is less than satisfactory, and there are plenty of reasons to suspect San Francisco could miss the playoffs this year after making it to three consecutive NFC Championship games and one Super Bowl over the previous three seasons.

So, understandably, there is no shortage of calls for CEO Jed York and the front office to show Shanahan the door.

Granted, outrage directed to a head coach after a tough loss is nothing new, but Shanahan's Niners this year have certainly displayed the sentiments associated with being a massive underachiever.

That generally falls upon the head coach.

Still, would York and Co. actually pull the plug on Shanahan if San Francisco fails to make the playoffs?

Highly unlikely. And there's a simple reason why.

Here's why 49ers won't fire Kyle Shanahan

Money.

Circle that as the No. 1 reason why Shanahan won't be dismissed. Sure, the overall body of work can be taken into account, and the 49ers have stayed more than just relevant since Shanahan and general manager John Lynch took over the helm in 2017. And there haven't been any credible and consistent reports of locker room tension, which is a pretty good indicator of the head coach "losing" his players.

But, money matters.

According to Sportico, Shanahan is the NFL's sixth highest-paid head coach, earning an annual average salary of $14 million. To put things into perspective, the Kansas City Chiefs' Andy Reid is the league's most-paid coach at an average of $20 million per year.

Not stopping there, one has to take into account the Niners granted both Shanahan and Lynch multi-year extensions just a year ago, ensuring the head coach would remain beyond the point when his previous deal was to originally expire, 2025.

Unlike players, head coaches typically receive the balance of their owed salaries upon being dismissed, meaning the Niners would pay out the remainder of Shanahan's contract if they dismissed him next year while then having to pay whoever they brought in as a replacement.

Related story: Every head coach in 49ers franchise history: Full list

San Francisco repeated this between 2015 and 2017 when now-Los Angeles Chargers head coach Jim Harbaugh was let go, followed by one-and-done head coaches Jim Tomsula and Chip Kelly in back-to-back years.

It's about as doubtful as can be the 49ers would dismiss Shanahan a mere season after extending him.

Now, if one wants to question whether or not the Niners should have extended Shanahan in the first place, that's another matter.

Read more from Niner Noise