Nine games remain in the 2021 NFL regular season. That is how long Matt Nagy has left as head coach of the Chicago Bears. At 3-5 and with the worst offense in the league, multiple sources indicate with growing certainty that he will be fired after the season concludes. Only a significant turnaround to make the playoffs will likely save him now. Until that happens, ownership has begun doing research on possible replacements.
As stated in a recent article, one thing George McCaskey may prioritize with the next head coach is experience. Somebody with a proven track record. There is a wide range of possibilities they might consider. A number of college names include Jim Harbaugh and Ryan Day. There is also Todd Bowles in Tampa Bay and Dennis Allen in New Orleans. Not to mention Doug Pederson who remains a free agent after his departure from Philadelphia. So here’s another name to consider.
What about Kyle Shanahan?
It sounds crazy to think about. Two months ago, nobody would’ve dreamed that the head coach of the San Francisco 49ers was in any sort of danger of losing his job. Things seem to have changed. After a dispiriting 14-point loss at home to Arizona, who was without star QB Kyler Murray, the calls for Shanahan’s job suddenly began to intensify. The 49ers are 3-5 and in danger of posting their fourth losing season in five years under him.
Despite coming just minutes from winning the Super Bowl in 2019, people are starting to wonder if that season is the exception and not the rule with Shanahan. Tim Kawakami covers the team for The Athletic. While he stated that firing the head coach is not going to happen right now, he couldn’t dismiss the possibility that it won’t happen if the team can’t rebound down the stretch.
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“Even if they’re now mostly playing to set themselves up for 2022, they are not yet at the point where they have to burn everything to the ground.
That might come later. It’s certainly fair to wonder how much more Shanahan and Lynch can accomplish since they’re sputtering so badly in Year 5. But it’s not that time right now…
…I’m not saying Shanahan and Lynch will or should be fired if they don’t have a wide-ranging plan to get Lance in as the full-time starter and looking good by the final weeks of this season. But if this season continues the way it’s going, I’m not entirely sure why Shanahan and Lynch would be kept around into 2022 if they didn’t have that kind of plan and if they couldn’t execute it.”
Niners social media is doing their darnedest to hide every call for Jim Harbaugh's return but it seems the dam has broken on that front https://t.co/06adZVvrfX
— Gabe Fernandez, shifting into stuffing mode (@thelatinochild) November 7, 2021
decided to look up which coaches have better career winning percentages than kyle shanahan. not disappointed pic.twitter.com/dtJIFsEwyE
— vasco da gamer (@Yelix) November 7, 2021
I am no longer 100% confident that Kyle Shanahan survives this season.
— Brett Kollmann (@BrettKollmann) November 7, 2021
Jed York should start looking for Kyle Shanahan's replacement. Maybe John and Denise York should start looking for Jed's replacement
— Lowell Cohn (@LowellCohn) November 8, 2021
Chicago Bears have good reasons to eye Shanahan
There is no question that the head coach is a divisive figure. His win-loss record is hard to ignore. However, some don’t think he is primarily the issue. Insider Mike Silver told Bally Sports that two key roster decisions have played a big part in the team’s swift decline following their 2019 peak. The trading of star defensive tackle DeForest Buckner and the overreliance on injury-prone cornerback Jason Verrett.
It’s a fair point. Defense has largely been the main issue for the 49ers during Shanahan’s tenure. During his four losing seasons, they’ve ranked 17th or worse in points allowed. They currently rank 25th. The head coach is an offensive guru. Despite question marks at quarterback and a slew of health setbacks, San Francisco has finished in the top 15 offensively in all but one season.
Shanahan is basically what the Chicago Bears expected Nagy to be.
His offensive track record is among the best in the NFL. In 14 years as a play caller dating back to 2008, the man has placed 15th or higher all but four times. That is a level of consistency that few can match. The fact he’s managed to uphold it with quarterbacks like Matt Schaub, Robert Griffin III, and Jimmy Garoppolo is a testament to his skill. Chicago even got a taste of it last week when San Francisco hung 33 points on them.
If the Bears’ goal is to make Justin Fields a success for this franchise, then they have to consider Shanahan if he is fired by San Francisco. That outside-zone, bootleg offense is perfect for the young quarterback. Not to mention the benefits it would bring for David Montgomery and Khalil Herbert. This is a situation McCaskey must monitor closely.
