We discuss the best 49ers for a successful 2023 season.
The San Francisco 49ers finished the regular season 12-5, earning the top seed in the NFC as they prepare for the playoffs.
It was a successful year for the 49ers, with quarterback Brock Purdy entering the season MVP conversation, quarterback Christian McCaffrey having arguably the best year of his career and several other players reaching elite heights.
It also looked to be the best year of head coach Kyle Shanahan’s coaching career, suggesting he should be in the conversation for Coach of the Year.
In our latest podcast episode, we gave out the 49ers’ awards for the 2023 season and debated whether Shanahan should be coach of the year or even his team’s best coach this year.
You can listen to Rohan Chakravarth’s show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or YouTube.
Reflecting on his career with the 49ers, it’s fascinating that Kyle Shanahan never won Coach of the Year in San Francisco despite reaching the NFC Championship Game four times in the last five years.
In 2019, when the 49ers jumped from a 4-12 record to 13-3 and first in the NFC, Shanahan was second only to Baltimore’s John Harbaugh as the Ravens went 14-2 in the regular season.
In 2021, the 49ers had a rough start to the season, starting 2-4 before the wild card with a 10-7 record. There was no award for Shanahan this year.
Shanahan then led the 49ers to 13-4 and No. 2 in the NFC in 2022, but the outstanding head coach was again No. 2 for Coach of the Year, voting against New York’s Brian Daboll, who led the way.
This year in 2023, Shanahan is back in contention, but not Top 3 odds, as Kevin Stefanski is currently the leader, while DeMeco Ryans and Dan Campbell have the second and third best odds to win the award.
Unfortunately, it looks like Kyle Shanahan will have another year without an award despite arguably his most successful year as a head coach..
