While San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan has not won a Super Bowl with his team, he’s done everything except that and has firmly established himself as one of the best coaches in the NFL.
Everyone knew his gifts as an offensive tactician well before he became a head coach, but he’s proven time and time again that he truly is an offensive genius.
It’s worth breaking down his three best play calls since he became San Francisco’s head coach back in 2017.
No. 3: George Kittle double-fake
This play was pretty wicked when fans first saw it back in 2022. It was just one of Brock Purdy’s first starts as the 49ers quarterback, and he was playing with injured ribs.
He still played great, though, and this play call showed just how much trust Shanahan already had in the rookie. Shanahan dialed up a beautiful play call in which Purdy did a pump fake to his left, then a pump fake to his right and then hit Kittle who was wide open running down the middle of the field and ran the ball in for an easy touchdown.
It was Shanahan at his best, employing deception and some fakes to get the best of the Seattle Seahawks. That was back when going into Seattle felt like a guaranteed victory for the Niners. Those were a nice couple of years.
No. 2: Jauan Jennings TD pass
While both Super Bowl losses to the Kansas City Chiefs bring back bad memories, the second one at least gave us an awesome play in which wide receiver Jauan Jennings threw a touchdown pass to running back Christian McCaffrey.
It was an incredibly bold play call on the biggest stage and started with what looked like Purdy throwing a screen to Jennings, but he threw it behind him, and then there was a screen set up on the other side of the field for McCaffrey. Jennings, a former quarterback, hit CMC on the other side of the field and the guys blocking allowed McCaffrey to go to the house untouched.
The play call was so good that the Niners let Jennings throw the ball again in the playoffs last season, and yet again he hit McCaffrey for a touchdown.
No. 1: Raheem Mostert’s marathon
While the run game is not as sexy as the pass game, Shanahan and then-offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel, deserve a ton of credit for the run scheme they had going into the 2020 NFC Championship game against the Green Bay Packers.
The Niners just fed Raheem Mostert the ball all game, and he finished with over 200 yards and four touchdowns. It was a masterclass in the dream run-first offense Shanahan likes to run, and it showed us all how much he didn't trust his quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo since he essentially took the ball out of his hands.
Shanahan is one of the best offensive minds in the NFL, and he seems to prove it year after year. These were three of his best play calls and it will be interesting to see what he dials up in future seasons.
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