The San Francisco 49ers are a surprising 2-3 entering Week 6 of the regular season. Injuries to key players like Christian McCaffrey aren’t helping the team, but head coach Kyle Shanahan’s team has blown to double-digit fourth-quarter leads in three weeks.
The San Francisco 49ers choked away another NFC West win
The 49ers allowed the Los Angeles Rams to earn a 27-24 comeback win in Week 3. On Sunday, the Arizona Cardinals put 11 points in the fourth quarter to steal a 24-23 win at Levi’s Stadium in San Francisco. The loss tied Shanahan with Baltimore Ravens head coach John Harbaugh for choking the most double-digit fourth-quarter leads in the regular season or postseason since 2017. Both coaches have done so six times.
Is Kyle Shanahan on the hot seat?
49ers beat writer for Sports Illustrated, Grant Cohn, is tired of the repeat circus show of watching Shanahan lose games San Francisco should put away. He suggested the 49ers should fire the defending NFC Champion head coach in a video posted to X.
“Stop me if you’ve heard this one before,” Cohn said. “This is how Kyle Shanahan always blows 10-point fourth-quarter leads. He stops running the ball. He’s more concerned with having an explosive offense than actually winning.
“That’s why he’s a fraud. (Shanahan) has been blowing fourth-quarter leads since 2017, when he was the offensive coordinator for the Falcons. Blowing fourth-quarter leads is his specialty, his destiny. It’s time to trade this choke artist before he coughs away another win to an inferior team. No coach does less with more than Shanahan. That’s his legacy. Get him out of here.”
@PatMcAfeeShow #IDontWantToOverreactBUT@grantcohn wit dat 🔥🔥🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/ibnvD6QYuK
— BubbaJune (@BubbaBud923) October 7, 2024
Firing Shanahan in the middle of the 2024 season would be a drastic move for the 49ers. The 44-year-old coach has led San Francisco to three straight postseason appearances. The team has made the playoffs in four of the last five seasons.
Andy Reid used to be blamed for the same thing
Shanahan has a 66-54 record in his eight years as the head man of the 49ers. San Francisco shouldn’t look to replace him unless they can find a slam-dunk hire, and the only coach worth pursuing is coaching Patrick Mahomes in Kansas City.
Andy Reid was criticized for his overuse of the forward pass until the Chiefs finally won a Super Bowl (over Shanahan’s 49ers). Shanahan will need to learn how to hold on to leads if he wants to become the best coach in the league.
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