H
istorically, the San Francisco 49ers are one of the NFL’s most storied and successful franchises. Winning five Super Bowls and producing numerous Hall of Famers including Jerry Rice, Joe Montana and Steve Young among others, it is safe to say that the 49ers history runs deep. In recent seasons, head coach Kyle Shanahan has brought the team back to relevancy, bringing them to four NFC championship games and two Super Bowls in his eight seasons in charge.
Despite a tough 2024 campaign that saw the 49ers limp to the finish line with a 6-11 record, Pro Football Focus still is very high on Shanahan and his ability to lead the 49ers, ranking him as the NFL’s seventh best head coaching– cementing his status as a top-1o coach in the league.
Shanahan’s Ranking According to PFF
In a recent article by PFF writer, Dalton Wasserman, Shanahan is still ranked highly because even though the 49ers fell well short of expectations, they still were a top-10 graded team on PFF and were the second-highest graded team ever that had a losing record.
“Shanahan is still one of the game’s greatest offensive minds and best head coaches. After appearing in their second Super Bowl in five seasons in 2023, the 49ers took a big step back last season,” Wasserman wrote. “However, they started 5-4 before losing seven of their final eight games. Those shortcomings came about more due to injuries to star players and a lack of run defense than anything within Shanahan’s control.”
“Despite their difficulties, Shanahan’s 49ers still ranked ninth in PFF grade last season, the second-highest mark by any team with a losing record,” Wasserman added. “Offensively, San Francisco still notched the fifth-best PFF grade in the league despite injuries to superstars Christian McCaffrey, Brandon Aiyuk and Trent Williams. Shanahan’s playcalling and work to develop Brock Purdy are the biggest factors in that success. If they are healthy, the 49ers are a legitimate bounce-back candidate this season.”
49ers Expectations for 2025
The roster may look a lot different, but for the most part, the 49ers core remains intact and if everyone stays healthy, like Wasserman said, there is no reason not to believe in the 49ers this season. Purdy is locked in long term after receiving a massive contract extension this offseason, cementing his status as the 49ers’ franchise quarterback while George Kittle and Fred Warner getting contract extensions of their own keep the heartbeats of the team around for the foreseeable future. With all of their important pieces signed long term, the 49ers can avoid a drama free training camp and put full focus on preparing for a bounce back campaign.
It also helps that the 49ers have the easiest strength of schedule in the entire league. Finishing in last in the NFC West in 2024, the 49ers are facing a bunch of teams that struggled last fall– a majority of them still deep in their rebuilds. If there is any season where the 49ers can return to the playoffs, it is this one.
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