Coach
Kyle Shanahan
Head Coach
Kyle Shanahan: facts drawn from the play-by-play.
Nine years in San Francisco, and the offense has finished top-10 in EPA per play in six of them.
Trend49ers offensive EPA per play — rank under Shanahan (regular season)
| Year | EPA/play | NFL rank | QB1 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | −0.042 | 16 | Beathard / Hoyer / Garoppolo |
| 2018 | −0.046 | 24 | Mullens / Beathard |
| 2019 | +0.065 | 5 | Garoppolo |
| 2020 | +0.008 | 18 | Mullens / Garoppolo |
| 2021 | +0.087 | 7 | Garoppolo |
| 2022 | +0.085 | 4 | Garoppolo / Purdy |
| 2023 | +0.174 | 1 | Purdy |
| 2024 | +0.069 | 10 | Purdy |
| 2025 | +0.088 | 6 | Mac Jones / Purdy |
49ers offensive EPA per play by season
| Season | EPA / play |
|---|---|
| 2017 | -0.042 |
| 2018 | -0.046 |
| 2019 | 0.065 |
| 2020 | 0.008 |
| 2021 | 0.087 |
| 2022 | 0.085 |
| #1 | 0.174 |
| 2024 | 0.069 |
| 2025 | 0.088 |
After two below-average seasons rebuilding the roster, the 49ers offense has finished top-10 in EPA per play in six of the last seven years. The 2023 unit, with Brock Purdy in his first full season, led the entire NFL at +0.174 EPA per play — the highest mark of any team in the Shanahan era.
Three different quarterbacks. All three turned into top-10 passers the moment Shanahan got them.
ComparisonQB EPA per play before and inside Shanahan’s offense
| QB | Before SF | With SF | Best SF rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jimmy Garoppolo | −0.213 / −0.778 / +0.339 (NE 2014–16) | +0.140 over 2017–22 | 4th in 2022 |
| Brock Purdy | N/A (rookie) | +0.297 in 2023 | 1st in 2023 |
| Mac Jones | +0.058 / −0.089 / −0.186 / −0.019 (NE/JAX) | +0.127 in 2025 | 9th in 2025 |
Mac Jones spent four years posting negative EPA per play in New England and Jacksonville. One season in Shanahan’s system and he ranks 9th among NFL starters at +0.127 — with Purdy ranked 4th in the same offense. Garoppolo had the same pattern in reverse: top-5 EPA in 2022 with SF, then −0.097 with the Raiders the very next year.
Four NFC Championship appearances since 2017 — only Andy Reid has more in the entire NFL.
RareConference Championship appearances by head coach (2017–2025)
| Coach | Conf appearances |
|---|---|
| Andy Reid | 7 |
| Kyle Shanahan | 4 |
| Sean McVay | 3 |
| Multiple coaches tied | 2 |
Since taking over the 49ers in 2017, Shanahan has reached the conference title game in 2019, 2021, 2022, and 2023. Among 31 head coaches with five-plus seasons over the same window, only Andy Reid has more conference championship appearances. Two of those four runs ended in the Super Bowl — both losses to Reid.
61–38 in multi-score games. 30–34 in one-score games. The same coach.
AnomalyCareer W-L by margin (regular season + playoffs)
| Margin | Games | W | L | Win % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Decided by 8 or fewer | 64 | 30 | 34 | 46.9% |
| Decided by 9 or more | 99 | 61 | 38 | 61.6% |
Shanahan-coached teams win three out of every five games decided by more than a possession, but they’re a sub-.500 team in close ones. The Super Bowl losses fit the pattern — Super Bowl LIV (31–20 to KC) and LVIII (25–22 OT to KC) were both decided in the final minutes by single-digit margins. The same offensive scheme that piles on points in blowouts has not consistently translated to late, tight situations.
More under-center snaps than the league average every single year of his tenure.
SplitUnder-center play rate — 49ers vs NFL average (regular season)
| Year | 49ers | NFL avg | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | 53.9% | 40.8% | +13.2 |
| 2018 | 54.5% | 36.1% | +18.4 |
| 2019 | 55.9% | 35.7% | +20.2 |
| 2020 | 41.6% | 34.0% | +7.6 |
| 2021 | 40.0% | 34.1% | +6.0 |
| 2022 | 38.0% | 32.4% | +5.6 |
| 2023 | 38.7% | 28.0% | +10.6 |
| 2024 | 39.5% | 29.7% | +9.8 |
| 2025 | 46.1% | 34.1% | +12.0 |
As the rest of the NFL drifted into shotgun — the league-wide under-center rate dropped from 41% in 2017 to 28% in 2023 — Shanahan stayed stubbornly old-school. The 49ers have run more snaps under center than the league average in all nine of his seasons, with the gap widening to +12 points in 2025 as the league’s gone full shotgun. That’s the structural skeleton of the play-action / wide-zone system.
Seven straight years of above-average YAC per completion — then it broke.
Milestone49ers yards-after-catch per completion vs league average
| Year | 49ers YAC/comp | NFL avg | Delta |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | 5.26 | 5.19 | +0.07 |
| 2018 | 7.00 | 5.31 | +1.69 |
| 2019 | 6.62 | 5.21 | +1.41 |
| 2020 | 6.18 | 5.05 | +1.13 |
| 2021 | 6.55 | 5.20 | +1.35 |
| 2022 | 6.62 | 5.11 | +1.51 |
| 2023 | 6.51 | 5.22 | +1.29 |
| 2024 | 5.27 | 5.30 | −0.03 |
| 2025 | 4.49 | 5.14 | −0.65 |
49ers YAC/completion edge over league average
| Season | YAC/comp delta vs NFL |
|---|---|
| 2017 | 0.07 |
| 2018 | 1.69 |
| 2019 | 1.41 |
| 2020 | 1.13 |
| 2021 | 1.35 |
| 2022 | 1.51 |
| 2023 | 1.29 |
| 2024 | -0.03 |
| 2025 | -0.65 |
From 2018 through 2023, San Francisco averaged 6.6 yards after the catch per completion — 1.3+ yards above the league every single year. That YAC machine, built on Deebo Samuel, George Kittle, and Christian McCaffrey screens and crossers, was the offense’s signature. In 2024 the edge vanished, and 2025 is actually below average at 4.49. With the offense ranked 6th in EPA but no longer winning after the catch, the formula has shifted — it’s now Purdy and Mac Jones executing structure, not the receivers turning short throws into long gains.
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