Kyle Shanahan is already tied with Sean McVay as the NFL’s second longest-tenured head coach, and the San Francisco 49ers seem happy to keep him around for a lot longer.
The team reportedly agreed to a new contract extension with Shanahan on Friday, just one day after a convincing 27-7 win over the Los Angeles Rams to open the regular season.
Terms of the deal have not yet been released, but he was already under contract through at least the 2027 season.
Kyle Shanahan extension will give him more time to lead 49ers back to Super Bowl
Shanahan has been the head coach of the 49ers since the start of the 2017 season and has put together a resume that has had some extreme highs and some disappointing lows. On the plus side, he has taken the team to the playoffs five teams, including two Super Bowls and two additional NFC Championship Games. The counter to that is he has also missed the playoffs four times and suffered some brutal postseason meltdowns, including blowing 10-point leads in both of his Super Bowl appearances.
In the eyes of 49ers ownership, the positives outweigh the negatives, and there is a lot to be said for reaching the NFL’s final four a total of four times in a nine-year stretch.
He is three games away from surpassing Hall of Fame coach Bill Walsh for the most games coached in franchise history, and is 15 regular-season wins away from matching George Seifert for the most wins in franchise history.
Along with the strong record and consistent deep playoff runs, the 49ers have been one of the NFL’s best offensive teams under Shanahan’s watch, while also finding a late-round gem quarterback in Brock Purdy.
The big question now is whether or not he can get them back to the Super Bowl and actually win it. With another contract extension to keep him in San Francisco for the foreseeable future, management and ownership are obviously betting that he can.