As the San Francisco 49ers are about to enter a very important NFL Draft, an interview with head coach Kyle Shanahan reveals his thought process as he tries to evaluate what will make a good football player and teammate.
The full article from Matt Barrows of The Athletic can be read here (subscription required). The article is well worth the read, but the gist of it is that Shanahan does not like the NFL Scouting Combine or the more formal interviews that take place with prospects in the leadup to the NFL Draft because it is easy for players to prepare and be polished for them which may not give the team the most accurate read on what kind of player they are getting.
When it was clear Shanahan would not be in attendance at the combine back in February, it seemed like the sort of move that could come back to bite him especially with so many other coaches in attendance.
Yet, reading Shanahan's rationale for not putting too much stock in all of the formulaic meetings makes a lot of sense. As anyone who has ever interviewed for a job can tell you, it is not too difficult to try and put your best foot forward. That is why the veteran head coach says that he will seek out feedback from interns or lower-level staff who interact with players to see if they behave differently around people who are lower on the totem pole.
Perhaps Shanahan could even try out a sort of Undercover Boss experience where he goes in disguise as a driver to drop prospects off at the combne or at a pre-draft visit so he can really get a sense of what they are like when interacting with normal people. Tell me that wouldn't make for a great episode of Hard Knocks. Plus, Shanahan looks hardly recognizable from when he first became head coach in San Francisco so he already has a leg up when it comes to a disguise.
In all seriousness, though, it was enlightening to get a sense of Shanahan and the 49ers' philosophy for gauging character and what kind of teammate they will be.
Drafting any player is always going to be a roll of the dice, but let's hope that the Niners draft well these next few days considering the fact they have plenty of holes to fill on the roster.