Kyle Shanahan’s success as the 49ers’ head coach has often hinged on the health of his starting quarterback. This year his team lost its top two QBs, and San Francisco didn’t miss a beat. Guiding a team on its third-string QB to an NFC West crown and a 10-game winning streak to close the regular season wasn’t enough to earn Kyle Shanahan his first Coach of the Year award. He finished second behind Giants head coach Brian Daboll in a close race.
Shanahan received 12 first-place votes and 100 total points in the NFL’s new voting system. Daboll had 16 first-place votes and 123 total points.
The other finalist was Jags head coach Doug Pederson, who received five first-place votes and 75 total points.
While Shanahan certainly had a strong case to win, it’s easy to see where Daboll garnered more votes. The Giants’ roster was mostly terrible and they still earned a playoff spot.
Shanahan had a loaded roster, but had to navigate injuries and helped Mr. Irrelevant quarterback his way to a 5-0 record as a starter and a seat as a finalist for the Offensive Rookie of the Year award.
San Francisco’s season could’ve fallen off the rails when they were blown out by the Chiefs in Week 7 to fall to 3-4, but Shanahan helped right the ship and the 49ers didn’t lose the rest of the way.
There have been a handful of very good coaching jobs by Shanahan in his tenure with the 49ers, but this year was his best, even if he didn’t get an award to show for it.
