Before the season, the San Francisco 49ers had expectations of trying to avenge their Super Bowl loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in February. Instead, the 5-7 49ers’ chances of even making the playoffs are in doubt before their early December matchup Sunday against the 4-8 Chicago Bears.
The Bears canned head coach Matt Eberflus on Nov. 29 after his late-game management cost Chicago in a 23-20 loss to the Detroit Lions on Thanksgiving.
This week, NBC Sports’ Mike Florio suggested the Bears could try and trade with the 49ers for head coach Kyle Shanahan. There have been more rumors that Shanahan could be on the hot seat amid the team’s underperformance in 2024. The eighth-year head coach of the 49ers has been criticized for the team blowing leads at the end of games.
The 49ers didn’t have to worry about losing a lead in Week 13, as the Buffalo Bills thumped San Francisco 35-10 in front of a national TV audience on “Sunday Night Football.” The blowout loss led to even more speculation about Shanahan’s future in The Bay.
On Friday, general manager John Lynch addressed those rumors.
“I find the whole discussion on Kyle and stuff rather comical,” Lynch said via a transcript by Cam Inman of the Bay Area News Group. “We’ve won 4 of last 5 division championships and been to 2 Super Bowls. The standard here is to win (Super Bowls) and we’ve fallen short. But we have an excellent head coach.”
Shanahan and the 49ers have faced serious challenges with the roster in 2024. Christian McCaffrey has played in just four games due to Achilles and PCL injuries, with the PCL issue knocking the All-Pro running back out for at least the remainder of the regular season.
Injuries to wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk, defensive tackle Javon Hargrave and linebacker Dre Greenlaw have been costly to the 49ers as well.
San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan.
Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images
Shanahan has a 69-58 record with the 49ers since he became the head coach in 2017.
The 44-year-old coach has an 8-4 postseason record and has led San Francisco to two Super Bowl appearances, with both ending in losses to the Kansas City Chiefs.
