The San Francisco 49ers continued their search for a new head coach with Kyle Shanahan. San Francisco interviewed the Atlanta Falcons offensive coordinator on Friday.
Shanahan is in his second year running the Falcons offense and his ninth NFL season as an offensive coordinator. He previously held the same role with the Houston Texans from 2008-2009, in Washington from 2010-13 and with the Cleveland Browns in 2014.
In 2016, Shanahan pulled the strings of Atlanta's top-ranked offense. The Falcons led the league with 33.75 points per game and ranked second with 415.8 total yards per contest. Matt Ryan is a top MVP candidate this season after throwing for 4,944 passing yards and 38 touchdowns. Atlanta's 11-5 record earned them the NFC South Divisional crown and a first-round bye in the postseason.
"I can recognize, not only why he's a candidate, but why he's a good candidate based on his experience as a play-caller," Falcons head coach Dan Quinn said prior to a December matchup against the 49ers. "Prior to connecting here (in Atlanta), I saw firsthand how good he is and his ability to attack.
"For people to look, I think it's warranted. If someone did speak to him, I know they'd come away very impressed."
Shanahan also has impressive lineage. His father, Mike Shanahan, is a three-time Super Bowl winning coach. Two of those championships came during his tenure as the head coach of the Denver Broncos from 1995-2008. That father-son combo worked together in Washington from 2010-13. Mike served as the head coach while Kyle was the OC.
Kyle Shanahan played wide receiver in college at Duke before transferring and playing two seasons for the Texas Longhorns. He began his coaching career in 2003 as a graduate assistant at UCLA. His first NFL gig came in 2004 as an offensive quality control coordinator for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
For more on Shanahan, check out this profile done by Peter King's MMQB back in October.
