© Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports
SANTA CLARA — 49ers general manager John Lynch and head coach Kyle Shanahan gave their closing statements on the 2018 season Monday. They touched on a variety of topics, from the disappointments of the season, to the encouraging breakthroughs, the returning roster, and the 2019 draft class.
Let’s review some of their most notable comments.
Shanahan felt the 49ers left some wins on the field
The 49ers held second-half leads in four of their 12 losses. In two of them (New York and Green Bay), they led in the final two minutes.
They evidently struggled to finish throughout the season. They averaged 3.8 points per fourth quarter, the fewest in the NFL. After their 33-30 loss at Green Bay, Shanahan lamented that the 49ers need to find “closers.”
The 49ers head coach still isn’t over those losses. On Monday, he said he thinks the 49ers should have finished 7-9, not where they ended at 4-12. He said the 49ers should have beaten the Packers, Giants, and Cardinals at Arizona.
“I’m down about that,” Shanahan said about the final record. “That’s what I’m upset with myself for in trying to find a way to get those games that you could have won, a couple of those close games that you feel as a coach, just watching the tape, going into the game, that you should have done. That’s how I’ll look at it every year. I think when you should make the playoffs, you know that. You get disappointed if you don’t. But, that is the goal, always.”
Shanahan urges players to use time off constructively
Several of the 49ers’ exciting second-year players endured slow starts to the 2018 season. That included Ahkello Witherspoon, Solomon Thomas, Reuben Foster, and Adrian Colbert. The one second-year guy who loudly bucked that trend? George Kittle.
Throughout the season, Shanahan praised Kittle for showing up to OTAs in great shape. He spent the offseason working to prevent the same nagging injuries that hampered him throughout his rookie season. Not only did Kittle stay healthy, he posted the preeminent season for any tight end, compiling 1,377 yards, the most ever in a single season for a tight end.
Kittle is living proof that an offseason spent right yields results. And that’s what Shanahan’s message to his team surrounded upon. He urged his players to think about how they can improve and use the offseason to ready themselves, physically and mentally, for 2019.
“I kind of talked to them a lot about, you know, the rookie slump, or the second-year slump guys have,” Shanahan said. “I’ve seen it a lot throughout my career, so I mentioned that stuff to them. I feel personally, when I always try to get better, I do that on my own time. It’s on vacation, whether you’re reading something or when you get time to reflect on the stuff you really work out on your own. Then, when you get back together, that’s when you practice the stuff and you go. So, I just tried to echo to the guys what is important and what I believe in. You don’t just show up four months from now and be like, ‘Alright, it’s time to get better.’ It’s already too late. If you have that mindset, you’re showing up to catch up. I always say, you’re getting better or worse, and if that’s the case, you’re getting worse.”
That message probably applies least to DeForest Buckner, who set a career-mark with 12 sacks in his third season. But Shanahan’s words got through to him.
“Some guys go through their sophomore slumps because they had such a long year,” Buckner said. “They hadn’t seen that much free time. Some guys take advantage of it by not really working out until OTAs come around, and they are playing catch-up when they get there. Guys just got to know how to manage their time, take the right amount of time off, and get back to it.”
Another year, greater competition
On a related note, Lynch and Shanahan are preaching the importance of competition in 2019. Entering Year 3 of the current regime, they feel they are deeper and more talented than in the previous two seasons.
For many of the aforementioned second-year players who struggled to start this year, their statuses as starters were largely preordained. They didn’t have to compete for those jobs during training camp. That won’t be the case in 2019.
Tarvarius Moore will push Witherspoon. Marcell Harris and D.J. Reed will push Jaquiski Tartt and Colbert. Jullian Taylor will push Thomas and the rest of the defensive linemen not named Buckner. Kendrick Bourne will push Pierre Garcon, if he is retained. Nose tackle D.J. Jones could take Earl Mitchell’s spot, if he is retained.
Lynch and Shanahan embrace that competition, which clearly points to the growing level of talent among the roster.
“You could see the young guys push some of the veteran players and it’s another reminder, something we’ve always known, that competition brings the best out in everyone,” Lynch said. “That’s the environment we want heading into this offseason and the way you do that, you continue to add good, quality players and good, quality people.”
Shanahan added that all 10 49ers practice squad players were promoted to the active roster at some point. That isn’t ideal because it indicated the number of injuries the team suffered, but it gave the coaches a long look at those players in game settings.
“I think they got better every week they played,” Shanahan said. “They showed that they can be NFL players.”
Shanahan foresees no changes to the coaching staff, backs Robert Saleh
If Shanahan had plans to fire a member of his coaching staff, he wouldn’t tell media members before doing so. But Shanahan, who is typically candid and straightforward, confidently said he plans to retain the current coaching staff, including defensive coordinator Robert Saleh.
Throughout the season, particularly during the first half, hordes of 49ers fans called for Saleh’s firing. Issues of missed tackles and blown coverages accentuated some bad early performances. But the 49ers also suffered several injuries. Once the continuity grew, those issues largely stopped, and the defense began parlaying one solid performance into another.
The 49ers finished the season as the No. 13 ranked defense in terms of yardage, allowing 346.6 per game. Their best three-game stretch of the season was from Week 14 to Week 16, allowing 328 yards and 15.3 points per game.
Saleh’s job appears safe. That is, unless Bill Belichick becomes available, Shanahan joked.
“I have an obligation to this organization that, just like I say with any player, when you guys ask me, ‘Hey, is this guy tradeable or anything like that?’” Shanahan said. “I’ll never say no one’s for sure not. I mean, if Bill Belichick became available two weeks from now and said he wants to come here, and I was told I had to let someone go to bring him in, that would probably be a smart decision to do that. I’m not going to ever say that everyone is just totally safe forever. But, what I can say is I think our staff is a very good staff and I like what our guys are, and where they can be and it’s the staff I want to hold onto.”
Lynch acknowledges strong pass-rushing draft class
The plea to draft an edge rusher has been heard loud and clear from the 49ers fanbase. The 49ers defensive line features big, imposing interior linemen, but it lacks a dynamic edge option who gets to the quarterback.
Fortunately for the 49ers, the 2019 NFL Draft class is loaded with potential solutions. This is regarded as one of the top classes for edge rushers in years — and Lynch agrees.
“I think it’s strong there,” Lynch said. “That’s clear. There’s good pass rushers in this draft. I think that’s a strength of this draft. That will be. Everyone is looking for those guys, so I think we’re excited. Everybody is excited for that.”