George Kittle shares various ways Kyle Shanahan has grown in 49ers coaching role
49ers tight end George Kittle joins NBC Sports' Chris Simms and discusses how Kyle Shanahan has grown as San Francisco's coach.
George Kittle shares various ways Kyle Shanahan has grown in 49ers coaching role originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
Video Transcript
Talk about the evolution of your coach, right?
You got to see it all from the start of the beginning.
And, and, you know, tell us the difference between first and second year, you know, Kyle Shanahan, and now what you see in him now as the, you know, the salty veteran that he is.
Well, I remember my first career start was game one, 2017, and we're playing the Carolina Panthers, and he went 0 for 5 on fourth down.
Like, that was Kyle.
He was like, "We're gonna go for it.
We're gonna be aggressive."
"We're gonna do our best."
And I think like after that game, because I think we lost 20 to zero.
And I think he was just like, "Ah, gotta be more responsible with the ball there.
You know, got to punt.
Can't give them good field position."
That type of stuff.
So, like I think he's always been like very aggressive when he's calling the game.
Yeah.
But like his situational awareness in my opinion has grown so much, like just And I, I think that's for everybody.
Like, hey, he's been the head coach for going on 10 years, and he just learned constantly like, hey, this part of the game matters the most.
You got to, you know, hang on to the ball before halftime.
Don't let the other team score, turnovers, whatever it is.
But like his situational, awareness has just grown so much, and I think our whole team has like realized that too.
Like we've all grown with it.
So it's been, it's just been fun to see and like how he game plans teams too now, like I just think it's fun.
Like sometimes we get one of the most difficult game plans I've ever seen in my entire life.
Yeah.
And then another game it'll be the easiest game plan I've ever seen, but it's verse a better team.
I'm just like, "Kyle, what are we doing?"
Yeah.
But then they, they all work, and I'm just like, "Ah, well, I'm having a great time regardless."
Yeah.
Right.
Well, it, it's amazing.
He You know, it Whether it's players that are there or players that leave, they always throw out the genius thing with Shanahan, right?
Mm-hmm.
"He's a genius.
He's a genius."
What is it to you when you sit there in those offensive meetings that he does that's just so impressive about how he game plans and, and kind of orchestrates a game plan for the coming week?
So I'll say when it comes to just the game plan, s- when you see all the installs and how like s- it feels like 50% of our entire game plan, which is like a couple hundred plays, are all ran out of the same motions, the same formations.
And like to the viewer, that's what it looks like, but like they're all different.
He just builds them in ways so they all look the same.
Right.
And so like you have no idea if we're doing a, like a play action pass, an outside zone, a reverse, a drop back pass, some type of gap scheme play action.
Like they all look the exact same, and when they all look the same, there's not a lot of tell.
So, like that part's really cool.
One of my favorite things about just being in a room with him is, on Fridays he does a run game meeting, and he like, he talks about why we're doing all the things that we're doing.
And like watching him dissect the defense and talk about like how we're running it through the C gap, but it's on the other side of the field, like, and how blocking everything, you know, blocking from the receivers, blocking them from the tight ends, how it all coincides together.
And like you learn so much in these meetings.
And like I That's why I always urge like young players, I'm like, "Hey, this is that meeting that you should have your pen and paper, your pen and pencil out, and you should be taking notes, because you're learning how football works.
And if you take anything from these meetings, like you're understanding how this whole offense beats a defense."
Yeah.
"So don't, don't fall asleep or be on your phone in this meeting, please."
Yeah, yeah.
Right.
Right.
No, I know.
That's, that's where I've, I've, I've seen it in action.
His, his ability- For sure to look at a d- he could coach a defense, right?
That, that's what people don't realize.
He could coach a defense.
Oh my gosh.
Like he- he's talking about, "Well, when this guy motions, now the Sam linebacker has this gap.
But when he counters back, now he has to go to another gap, and now this D tackle has to communicate that he's going to this gap."
And like when I got to the league, I was like, "What?"
Yeah.
Right.
And now I just have a way better understanding of it.
Like I don't think I could coach it yet, but like I have a full understanding of like, hey, if they're in this defense, gap sound th- here, here, and here.
And like seeing him, like he builds these motions off and the formations off of like making them have bad gaps.
It's really cool to see too, 'cause like when like the plays that do hit, like when the defense isn't on their, their When they're not on it, and they are out of a gap, it's 70 yards down the field.
Yeah.
Right.
Right.
And it's just like so cool to see that stuff, 'cause he's like, "This is what's gonna happen, and then this is gonna hap-..." And then it actually happens.
You're like, "Oh, that was really cool to watch."
