Patience is a gift that many people do not possess. I’m one of those people.
A week ago, I wrote it was time for Jed York to either pull the trigger and offer the GM job to Eliot Wolf or Louis Riddick. The more time wore on, the more he’d risk candidates dropping out.
But since this search has already prolonged, and since the 49ers are “almost certain” Kyle Shanahan will accept their head coaching position, York and 49ers fans should be pulling hard for their future head coach to win the Super Bowl with Atlanta, rather than to lose and get on with the next chapter.
Because if Shanahan does win the whole enchilada, the 49ers will by far have hired the most qualified candidate on the market.
The respect Shanahan will garner inside Santa Clara will triple if he can outscore Aaron Rodgers this weekend and then take down either the mighty Steelers or Patriots in Houston come February. Coaches who walk into a building with Super Bowl clout are revered. It sets the culture and gives the coach credibility that he knows what he’s talking about.
That would be fantastic news for the 49ers, who have painfully lacked leadership and an identity the last two seasons under Trent Baalke’s direction. Players, hell, even fans are looking for someone to follow. Someone who has proven he can bring down the top dogs. Each win this postseason is another bright spot shining on Shanahan’s resume, more belief that players will quickly buy into his program.
And you can say York had no idea this would happen; that he luckily stumbled upon Shanahan after being rejected by Josh McDaniels; that he was truly crisscrossing the country without a masterplan. Guess what? The process of this hiring doesn’t matter. The end result does.
The work Shanahan has done with a talented Falcons roster is a projection of what he can turn the 49ers’ blank canvas into. To me, it’s stronger evidence of success than the coattails McDaniels has been riding in New England. The work he did scraping talent out of the bottom of the barrel in his Cleveland, Washington and Houston tenures are further confirmation he’s the right coach to start a rebuild with at the bottom
Shanahan politically and rightfully sidestepped questions about being offered the San Francisco job in a Thursday interview with Atlanta media.
“There’s some interest, obviously, but there’s no ‘understanding,’” the 37-year-old said.
There’s obviously still a few hoops to jump through in hiring the next GM, especially now that Shanahan has essentially roped the leverage of having final say on the roster. The two likely candidates — either Green Bay’s Brian Gutekunst or Minnesota’s George Paton — will have to be okay swallowing their pride from time to time. Shanahan will also have to learn to balance his stubbornness. He can’t win every war on every player.
Need more proof that waiting for Shanahan to win a championship would be a better thing than not? Here’s the list of NFL head coaches who won a Super Bowl first as an assistant: Bill Belichick (Giants 1986 and 1990), Mike Tomlin (Tampa Bay 2002), Andy Reid (Green Bay 1996), Mike Zimmer (Dallas 1995), Jim Caldwell (Colts 2006), Marvin Lewis (Ravens 2000), Jack Del Rio (Baltimore 2000), Ben McAdoo (Green Bay 2010), Jay Gruden (Tampa Bay 2002).
That’s just a list of current active head coaches. It doesn’t include Kyle’s father, Mike, who won the Super Bowl with the 49ers in 1994 with Steve Young, before winning two more in Denver later in the decade. Proving you can be a part of a Super Bowl winning staff has often been a precursor for appearing in and winning more Super Bowls.
It’s understood that hiring an assistant coaching staff is a meat market. That’s the rush for some 49ers fans here, and maybe even prominent people within the organization. But go ahead and run down a list of defensive coordinator candidates. There are not any names that jump off the page. And who cares if the introductory press conference is in February?
York, of course, should be happiest of all if Shanahan does hoist the Lombardi Trophy above his head in February. His harping of the buzzword “Championship Culture” will actually mean something if his new head coach has proven he can go out and win one.
Just like this hiring process, patience will be required next season for the 49ers. The team will have all new systems on offense and defense, probably a young quarterback and an influx of both rookies and free agents. It’s going to take years of watering the flowers until they bloom like Atlanta’s.
But with Shanahan in the fold — and maybe even with a Super Bowl ring on — this football team has a direction. It will have an identity. It will have fun and be serious at the same time. I’d even wager they’ll be hosting a playoff game in Shanahan’s third season.
Sometimes, the best things in life are worth waiting for.