San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan is widely regarded as one of the best head coaches currently in the NFL. The only knock against him is that he hasn’t won a Super Bowl, and this Sunday his team will be going up against a coach who has historically given him fits.
The Seattle Seahawks under Mike Macdonald have become one of the best teams in the league. They’re the reigning Super Bowl champions and they’re off to a solid start this season with a 3-1 record through four games.
Macdonald has had Shanahan’s number in recent years, though. Both with the Baltimore Ravens and Seahawks, Macdonald has been able to limit Shanahan’s offense to less than 20 points in five of their last six meetings dating back to 2023.
We all remember that game on Christmas in 2023 against Baltimore. That was arguably Purdy’s worst career game as he threw four interceptions and simply looked lost out there at times. That game is really what got Macdonald, then the defensive coordinator in Baltimore, the job as the head coach in Seattle.
Since then, Purdy’s performances against Macdonald’s defenses have been mixed. In 2024 when Macdonald was still trying to get more talent on his defense and implement his scheme, the Niners split the season series taking the first game 36-24 and then losing the second one 20-17 as Purdy threw an interception.
Then last season the Niners beat Seattle in a Week 1 thriller 17-13 on a late touchdown to Jake Tonges, but Purdy didn’t have his best game then either as he threw two interceptions. The next two meetings were decidedly in Seattle’s favor though as the Seahawks beat San Francisco 13-3 in Week 18 to secure the No. 1 seed and then when the teams met in the playoffs a few weeks later, the Niners got slaughtered 41-6.
49ers beating Seahawks would prove Macdonald doesn't own Shanahan
Yes, the Niners did have injuries during those games but it’s also clear at this point that Macdonald’s ability to draw up a game plan against Shanahan’s offense is a problem. One can only imagine Shanahan spent much of the offseason thinking about how to overcome that hurdle but this Sunday is when the rubber meets the road.
Analysts are finally starting to talk about Shanahan and Purdy as one of the best coach-quarterback tandems in the NFL. The way they can really cement that status is by beating a guy who has given them fits in recent years. Is Macdonald the new Jim Schwartz for Shanahan or can Shanahan finally crack the code and prove that Macdonald doesn’t have his number?
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