Do not let 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan off the hook that easily. Do not join the chorus singing his praises for leading an injury-ridden team to the NFC divisional playoffs. And do not blame the Seahawks’ home-field advantage because the 49ers had won four consecutive games in Seattle.
Fred Warner and Nick Bosa were healthy in 2024 when the 49ers were 6-11, so they were actually better without them this season. Shanahan’s record in nine seasons is 82-67 in the regular season and 9-5 in the postseason. Two Super Bowl appearances in that soan are noteworthy, but the 49ers lost both.
Sean McDermott was fired by the Bills on Monday after compiling a regular-season record of 98-50 in nine seasons. The Bills were 8-8 in the playoffs and never reached the Super Bowl, however. At least the Bills did McDermott a favor by letting him go with seven teams in need of a head coach.
McDermott will be in demand just as Shanahan would be if the 49ers fire him. If there is a smidgen of doubt, if anyone in the front office or the locker room believes the 49ers will be better off without Shanahan, this is the time to pull the trigger to have any shot at the top candidates on the market.
John Harbaugh and Kevin Stefanski are already off the market after being hired by the Giants and Falcons, respectively. Those teams are fortunate to have new coaches under contract before the Bills job became available. The 49ers job would have also been more attractive if they had pulled the plug on Shanahan.
The 49ers would likely be competing with the Bills for the same candidates because none of the other six teams in need of a coach have as much to offer. The Raiders, Ravens, Titans, Steelers, Cardinals and Dolphins have enough issues to scare away a coach who has a plan to achieve immediate success.
If the 49ers part ways with Shanahan, he will be contacted immediately to arrange interviews. in those meetings, he will likely be asked to explain how the 49ers went from losing to the Seahawks by 10 points at home on Jan. 3 to being blown out of the playoffs by 35 points Saturday in Seattle.
The 49ers could have had home-field advantage throughout the playoffs, not that playing at Levi Stadium did them much good Jan. 3 in a 13-3 loss to the Seahawks. The 49ers lost despite yielding three points in the second half just as they did in beating the Seahawks 17-13 in Seattle on Sept. 7.
Allowing 17 points in the second half Saturday made the Seahawks’ 41-6 win the largest margin of victory in the playoffs since 2014. The game could have ended after the first quarter with the Seahawks leading 17-0. The 49ers had nine plays in the first quarter and one was absolutely atrocious.
Shanahan tried to show his brilliance on the 49ers’ first possession by gambling on fourth-and-1 at the Seattle 40. Fullback Kyle Juszczyk took a handoff and had the option of running or lateraling to Christian McCaffrey. When Juszczyk finally pitched the ball, McCaffrey was no longer looking for it.
The ball bounced out of bounds and the Seahawks converted the fumble into a field goal for a 10-0 lead. The 49ers were already reeling from Rashid Shaheed returning the opening kickoff 95 yards for a touchdown. Shanahan’s ridiculous fourth-down call pounded another nail in the 49ers’ coffin.
Shanahan grabbed his hammer again in the second quarter. The 49ers trailed 17-3 when they got the ball at their 5 after the defense forced a three-and -out by the Seahawks. McCaffrey had an 8-yard run on first down, his longest of the game, and Purdy followed with three completions for 40 yards.
The third was a 9-yard pass to McCaffrey for a first down at the Seahawks 42. The drive had covered 53 yards at that point and turned out to be the 49ers’ longest in the loss. They were flirting with momentum and a shot at scoring their first touchdown in six quarters against the Seahawks.
This was as good as it was going to get for the 49ers. This was an opportunity to show they would not go gentle into the night. All it turned out to be was an opportunity for Shanahan to again show he has yet to figure out the difference between cute and clever, especially with the season at stake.
Shanahan called a flea flicker that amounted to be a 1-yard screen pass to DeMarcus Robinson. A 3-yard run by McCaffrey and an incomplete pass left the 49ers to settle for Eddy Pinero’s 50-yard field goal. The Seahawks answered with an 80-yard touchdown drive to build a 24-6 halftime lead.
This will be an intriguing offseason for the 49ers. They have manipulated contracts to win now and pay later, but what have they won? The 49ers led the NFL in 2025 with $92 million in dead money after prorating salaries and bonuses for players whom they traded like Deebo Samuel or released.
The 49ers have not won a Super Bowl since the 1994 season. The Bills have yet to win one and fired McDermott because his regular-season success never produced a championship. Shanahan has had just as many seasons as McDermott to win a championship and might be running out of time to do so.
