Former Denver Broncos and Washington Redskins head coach Mike Shanahan is one of the highest prospects on the list to become the next San Francisco 49ers head coach. With how much we saw reported that Jim Harbaugh clashed with the front office, only more problems would arise if Shanahan took over.
49ers owner Jed York and general manager Trent Baalke have made it clear that they will be running things. They weren’t afraid to kick out a head coach that had nearly a .700 winning percentage because he wasn’t running the team like they wanted him to run it. Harbaugh didn’t do anything wrong, he just wasn’t running the team with “class,” as York essentially put it when you read between the lines in press conferences and interviews.
That’s why it’s interesting Shanahan is getting such buzz for becoming the next head coach. As a head coach that wants power and has a resume to back it up, the 62-year-old veteran would often clash with the 34-year-old owner and a general manager that wants final say on every piece of the roster.
York was able to hang on the precedent that Harbaugh wasn’t able to win a Super Bowl — although they were a handful of plays from reaching three straight championship games and getting at least one title — but that wouldn’t happen with Shanahan. The historic figure has been coaching longer than York has been alive. If the relationship didn’t work out, York would once again get the full blow of criticism.
If the 49ers’ infamous duo aren’t willing to let some of the power slide, then Shanahan is the absolute wrong fit for the job. After a year away from the disaster in Washington, Shanahan is probably more keen on getting a job than debating about power. But it will be on his mind, because that’s why he was so selective on being a head coach elsewhere in the past.
Here’s a part of an interview with Shanahan in The Chronicle back in 1989 after moving on from the Oakland Raiders and being the 49ers’ offensive coordinator.
"“… I don’t feel like my ego’s so strong where I’ve got to have my name in lights, saying, ‘Hey, I’m the head coach.’ But at the same time, I think I’ve been around enough to know that if you’re going to have your name on something, you better be able to control your own destiny. That’s what I’m looking for, so whatever happens, you can say, ‘That’s Mike Shanahan’s football team.’”"
Ultimately, a happy ending isn’t in store from what we know. The rumor mill has been churning more toward a reunion with the Raiders after interviewing with them last week.
Until York is done with his power trip, head coaches like Shanahan would serve best to stay away. York needs to do away with his thoughts on trying to find “the next Bill Walsh.” He already had the next Walsh — it was Harbaugh.
Carmen Policy, who was the vice president, president, and CEO of the 49ers during the golden era in the 1980’s, said in an interview with KNBR this week that Walsh was just as hard to work with. However, Walsh and then owner Eddie DeBartolo ended up loving each other.
It’s hard to imagine York and Harbaugh ever getting along together, but perhaps York can reach a crossroads of his own. Policy also talked about how DeBartolo was panned by the media much like York was in his first years at the helm.
Until the current 49ers owner has that day of reckoning, it would be better off if Shanahan and other experienced NFL head coaches looked for an alternate opportunity.