The 49ers are giving Kyle Shanahan everything he needs to succeed

Still an unproven head coach as he enters his third year in charge, Shanahan is getting the players he wants in order to get the 49ers back on track.

Kyle Shanahan is just 10-22 in two seasons as the head coach of the San Francisco 49ers. But going into year three of his tenure, the 49ers are still all-in on him, which is a significant development given their tendency to dump coaches quickly — Jim Harbaugh, Jim Tomsula, and Chip Kelly being the latest string of casualties.

Two years ago, 49ers CEO Jed York targeted Shanahan to restore the team to offensive glory. Shanahan had excelled as an innovative offensive coordinator for the Atlanta Falcons, and he brought those same philosophies to the West Coast.

His offenses feature a lot of moving parts. Everything is built to put the defense off balance. A lot of that comes from play-action, but he’s always looking to tweak conventional offensive formations. Shanahan enjoys playing ends off the line, setting up crack blocks, end-arounds, and tight end screens or any number of deceptive misdirection based around the placement of the tight end. He likes uneven and offset sets, rotating in a variety of players as often as possible. Shanahan wants to make defenses question themselves and he wants to be unpredictable.

Those formations and goals depend on having versatile players. The 49ers’ haul over the past two offseasons reflects their commitment to Shanahan’s grand vision. Despite a disappointing record — due in part to bad injury luck for key players like Jimmy Garoppolo and Jerick McKinnon— they continue to give him the weapons he needs.

Let’s run through who the 49ers have added for Shanahan, and take a look at what that means for the team.

Free agency brought in the first two waves of Shanahan’s guys

Within the first year and change of Shanahan’s tenure, he formed a young core of offensive players that fit his mold. The 49ers added do-it-all fullback Kyle Juszczyk. They traded for Garoppolo. They signed McKinnon and Marquise Goodwin, a receiver with all the tools but who came up short in Buffalo.

A year after the big contract for McKinnon, the 49ers went out and got Tevin Coleman, a running back who spent time under Shanahan in Atlanta. Coleman is a versatile guy who is especially good at keeping the defense on its toes, and he had some of his best games with Shanahan calling plays. Expect to see a lot of this:

This offseason they also signed wide receiver Jordan Matthews, a former second-round pick who has bounced around the league. Despite his inconsistency, 16 of his 22 career touchdowns have come in the red zone. That’s an area where Shanahan’s offenses struggled in Atlanta and continue to struggle in San Francisco — the 49ers were last in the NFL in terms of red zone touchdown efficiency last season.

The 49ers loaded up on weapons in the draft

And now we get to the most recent developments during the 2019 NFL Draft. If you were at all concerned about the rumors of discord between Shanahan and general manager John Lynch, you should take comfort in this: Lynch, the man who pulls the trigger on every draft pick, took pretty much exclusively Shanahan-type players.

Although they used their first pick on defense, Nick Bosa was arguably the best player in the draft and is another pass rusher who should be terrifying next to recently added Dee Ford. Offensively, though, is where Shanahan’s identity really came out on draft day(s).

Deebo Samuel was San Francisco’s first offensive pick, a wide receiver taken in the second round. Many have talked about Shanahan needing a Julio Jones kind of receiver like he had in Atlanta, and while Samuel is four inches shorter than Jones, they share a similar style of play. They’re both incredibly physical guys who will stop at nothing to pick up extra yards.

Does this look like a 5’11 wide receiver to you?

His ability to fight for contested balls and contort his body for tough catches is unparalleled among rookies. I’m not saying he’ll be Jones, but ...

He’s really good.

The 49ers went back to the well and got another receiver right after Samuel: Jalen Hurd. At 6’5 and 227 pounds, Hurd, falls more into the “offensive weapon” category, which means Shanahan is a sucker for his skillset.

Hurd first played college ball at Tennessee, where he was used as a running back, and then Baylor, where he became a wide receiver. He finished his college career with 637 carries for 2,844 yards and 23 touchdowns and 136 receptions for 1,438 yards and 10 touchdowns. In the NFL, Hurd could wind up playing tight end, receiver, or running back, and likely some combination of the three.

“I’m a mismatch guy so wherever they best see me fit, I can make a play,” Hurd said recently. “I can do a lot. That’s not really my position right now to guess and see where I’m going to play. I’m just going to go in there, work hard and see where I end up.”

Yeah, I think Shanahan will take a guy that can do that on a first-and-20.

Other draft picks also hint at Shanahan’s influence — offensive tackle Justin Skule will give the 49ers the swing tackle they need, as well as someone who can kick inside if need be. Then there’s tight end Kaden Smith of Stanford. He caught 47 passes for 635 yards and a pair of touchdowns as a junior, and may could be the primary backup to George Kittle (who, by the way, set the NFL record for single-season receiving yards by a tight end last year).

The NFL has seen the rise and fall of many “innovative” offensive-minded coaches, and Shanahan leading the 49ers back to contention is hardly a guarantee. But it’s clear the 49ers are giving him all the tools to execute his plan.

If the team fails to make the playoffs in the next couple years, we’ll at least know that the front office invested in the young head coach and gave him a chance to succeed.