Kyle Shanahan ranks third among NFL head coaches, despite facing criticism for inconsistency. In his 10 seasons with the 49ers, he has led the team to five playoff appearances and two Super Bowl representations.
Kyle Shanahan is entering his 10th season with the San Francisco 49ers since taking over as their head coach for Chip Kelly after a disastrous 2-14 season which landed them the second pick in the 2017 NFL draft.
Under Shanahan, the 49ers are 82-67 (.550) in the regular season and 9-5 (.643) in the postseason. They've made the playoffs five times in his nine seasons, and they've represented the NFC in the Super Bowl twice.
With that success, Shanahan landed third (behind Sean McVay and Andy Reid) on Patrick Daugherty's 2026 head coach rankings for NBC Sports.
"Kyle Shanahanās teams always win at least 12 games except for all the times they donāt," Daugherty wrote. "Shanny has long since established himself as the king of variance. So is life when personnel takes a back seat to scheme and coaching. But has Shanahan finally discovered something heās been accused of lacking: Resilience? 2025 had all the hallmarks of a lost 49ers campaign. A biblical wave of injuries, including at quarterback. Acrimonious disputes with the No. 1 and 2 wideouts. Questionable to nonexistent returns from many key recent draft picks. This would usually be the cue for Shanny to accept his 6-11 fate and start planning for next yearās Super Bowl loss.
"And yet, there his team was, playing for the NFCās No. 1 seed in Week 18. Not even the dreary home loss to the Seahawks that ensued could obscure the fact this was a different kind of Shanahan squad, one that actually punched back after getting knocked down. That was confirmed the following week when they upset the Eagles in the Wild Card Round. By that point, another rough loss to the Seahawks in the Divisional Round didnāt even matter. This is a Shanahan team that still has all of its old strengths, but with some new ones thrown in. If 'Shanny Ball' can actually denote toughness moving forward, Shanahan will soon shed his moniker as the best active coach not to lift a Lombardi."
While this is an impressive spot for Shanahan in these rankings, it also points out the obvious hole in his resume. Every other coach in the top five (McVay, Reid, Mike Macdonald and Sean Payton) have all won a Super Bowl in their careers.
The 49ers seem pretty comfortable with Shanahan running things, as they should, but at some point, he'll need to capture a Lombardi Trophy and end the drought in San Francisco.
More 49ers: 49ers appear poised to repeat NFL draft mistake
This article originally appeared on Niners Wire: 49ers Kyle Shanahan holds top-3 head coach spot despite massive flaw
Kyle Shanahan has an 82-67 regular season record and a 9-5 postseason record with the San Francisco 49ers.
The San Francisco 49ers have made the playoffs five times during Kyle Shanahan's tenure as head coach.
Sean McVay and Andy Reid are ranked above Kyle Shanahan in the head coach rankings by Patrick Daugherty.
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