Kyle Michael Shanahan (born December 14, 1979) is an American football coach who is the head coach for the San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League (NFL). He came to prominence as the offensive coordinator for the Atlanta Falcons, whose offense in 2016 led the league in points scored and helped the team reach Super Bowl LI. Shanahan became the head coach of the 49ers the following season, whom he has led to three playoff runs, two division titles, three NFC Championship Games, and a Super Bowl appearance in Super Bowl LIV.
Early life
Shanahan was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, while his father Mike Shanahan coached at the University of Minnesota. He attended Saratoga High School in Saratoga, California in 1994, while his father worked as offensive coordinator for the San Francisco 49ers. He later attended Cherry Creek High School in Greenwood Village, Colorado, while his father served as head coach of the Denver Broncos. Shanahan accepted a scholarship offer by Carl Franks of Duke University, but chose to transfer as redshirt freshman to the University of Texas at Austin. Shanahan played wide receiver on a Longhorn team that featured future college coach Major Applewhite as well as future NFL players Roy Williams, Cedric Benson, Bo Scaife, Mike Williams, Quentin Jammer, and Chris Simms. Shanahan caught 14 passes for 127 yards in his career for the University of Texas at Austin.
Coaching career
College career
Soon after he graduated from Texas in 2003, Shanahan became graduate assistant to Karl Dorrell at UCLA.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Shanahan was hired as assistant coach for offensive quality control under head coach Jon Gruden with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2004.
Houston Texans
In 2006, Shanahan was hired by Gary Kubiak to serve as wide receivers coach for the Houston Texans. Kubiak had previously served as offensive coordinator under Mike Shanahan with the Broncos. At the time, Kyle Shanahan was the youngest position coach in the NFL. A season later, Shanahan received another promotion to become the Texans quarterback coach. In 2007, he had also been offered to become offensive coordinator at the University of Minnesota, where former Broncos assistant Tim Brewster just became head coach. Shanahan declined, citing his decision to be an NFL coach. Shanahan was immediately dealt as the frontrunner for the vacant offensive coordinator position after Mike Sherman had left the Texans to take over as head coach at Texas A&M University.
On January 11, 2008, Shanahan was officially promoted, becoming the youngest coordinator in the NFL, being more than three years younger than Josh McDaniels of the New England Patriots.
Washington Redskins
In 2010, Shanahan left the Texans to join his father, Mike Shanahan, with the Washington Redskins. The Washington Redskins’ performance during his tenure led some to question whether Shanahan's hiring was an example of unearned nepotism. In 2012, Shanahan was fined $25,000 for insulting the replacement officials and confronting one after a loss to the Cincinnati Bengals. On December 30, 2013, Kyle, along with his father and some of the coaching staff, were fired from the Washington Redskins.
Cleveland Browns
On February 1, 2014, it was reported by media outlets that Shanahan was hired as offensive coordinator for the Cleveland Browns. Prior to his hiring by the Browns, Shanahan interviewed for the vacant offensive coordinator jobs held by the Miami Dolphins and Baltimore Ravens. On January 8, 2015, Shanahan resigned from his offensive coordinator position due to friction with head coach Mike Pettine and possibly how the front office was run.
Atlanta Falcons
On January 18, 2015, the Atlanta Falcons hired Shanahan as their new offensive coordinator. After going 8–8 in 2015, the Falcons' offense under Shanahan was the highest-scoring offense in the league in 2016 and earned an 11–5 record, a division title, and a Super Bowl LI berth against the New England Patriots. Shanahan was named the NFL Assistant Coach of the Year for the 2016 season.
During Super Bowl LI, the Falcons held a 28–3 lead over the Patriots, in part thanks to Shanahan's play-calling and the Falcons' execution of those plays. However, Shanahan was criticized for being too aggressive by not using a ball-control running attack late in the game which resulted in the Falcons losing by a score of 34–28 in overtime.
San Francisco 49ers
On February 6, 2017, one day after the Super Bowl, Shanahan was officially hired as the next head coach of the San Francisco 49ers, signing a six-year deal.