Even the most apathetic fan of the 49ers and Los Angeles Rams understand their team’s recent woes. Since losing the 2014 NFC Championship, the 49ers stumbled to back-to-back fourth place NFC West finishes in 2015 and 2016, during which time they saw two different head coaches and went 7-25 overall.
Likewise, the Rams finished their tenure in St. Louis failing to finish higher than third place since 2007. They too saw a change of command when long-time head coach Jeff Fisher was replaced by John Fassel towards the end of last year after four losing seasons.
Nonetheless, if anyone is going to turn these disheartened franchises around, its their promising new head coaches, Kyle Shanahan and Sean McVay. While discussing their upcoming matchup on Murph and Mac, Adam Schefter expressed his confidence in the two young playcallers.
“I happen to be a big fan of both, I think they are two of the brightest offensive minds in the game,” Schefter said. “Both relate to the players and I think both are going to be excellent head coaches. They’re the two youngest head coaches in the NFL, 31 and 37-years-old.”
The relationship between these two head coaches stretches back to when Shanahan, then the offensive coordinator for the Washington Redskins, hired McVay as the team’s quality control coach. The pair worked together until Shanahan left in 2013 to become the offensive coordinator for the Cleveland Browns and Atlanta Falcons.
“Kyle [Shanahan] hired Sean in Washington when Sean was 24 as the quality control coach and they are still great friends,” Schefter said. “Having spoken to both of them about facing each other, I know that in a way, especially in the mind of Sean, its going to be a little odd for him to be facing someone he likes and respects so much and vise versa.”
Now, Shanahan and McVay are reunited as opposing head coaches for the first year of their coaching careers. While McVay attempts to bounce his team back from their first loss of the season, Shanahan looks to secure the first victory of his coaching career.
“To me, it’s a very intriguing matchup,” Schefter said. “I know that the 49ers so far, they’re still waiting for their first touchdown. The Rams are 1-1 and so to me, a matchup with these two guys that I think are going to be at the helm or head of their franchises for years to come, this will be the first of many meetings between these two head coaches.”
To listen to the full interview, check out the podcast below and skip to 3:57 for Schefter on Shanahan and McVay.