Former NFL Offensive Coordinator Assesses 49ers HC Kyle Shanahan

Kyle Shanahan has accomplished almost everything a coach can achieve.

He has been the Coordinator of the Year and he has gone to three Super Bowls. But he hasn’t won one yet. He’s missing some hardware.

To evaluate what Shanahan does well and not so well, I interviewed former Raiders offensive coordinator and play caller Tom Walsh, who won two Super Bowls. Here’s what Walsh said.

Q: What do you admire about Kyle Shanahan as an offensive coordinator?

WALSH: “The one thing about which I really enjoy watching Kyle is the opening series of the game. You give him that first series and a week of preparation, he has some very unique movement schemes and some excellent play-action passes. He strikes early. He takes a few shots down the field. He always has something with multiple shifts and motions to probe the defense. And then he has a shot play in there. His first series is really creative, designed well and has a lot of thought to it.”

Q: Where does Shanahan need to improve?

WALSH: “There comes a point in the game where you have to know how to close it out. I hate to say it that way, it’s kind of blunt, but when you have a lead like he has had in three Super Bowls — one as a coordinator in Atlanta and two as the head coach of the Niners — the great ones know how to close out the game. You have to have a script in your mind and you have to have rehearsed it as a play caller. This is situational football. Practice it. You’re up by 9 and there’s X amount of time left in the game, here’s what we’re going to do to seal the deal. You’ve got to practice it. You’ve got to script it. The players have to know what to anticipate from you and how you’re going to go about shutting the door on the opponent.”