He was there for one season and coached under the legendary head coach Barry Switzer. Each of the three coaches enters the divisional round of the NFC playoffs with a great chance of getting to the Super Bowl. Personal Information Thats one every eight years 33 percent faster than Parcells tree. They couldve been an O-line coach or defensive backs coach, but they had to serve at least one season under the star on top. Despite the three Lombardi trophies to this particular coaching trees name, they have a middling .533 winning percentage in the postseason. The second seed in the NFC also has a Mike Shanahan tree member or more realistically a Shanahan branch since Kyle brought this coach with him to Washington from Houston with Matt LaFleur. With so many seasons under their belts, youd expect a pretty mediocre record, yet Parcells tree still managed a .542 win percentage fourth-best of all coaches on this list and .611 postseason win percentage (second-best). It stopped his heart for 30 seconds and a priest performed his Last Rites. The Shanahan influence/coaching tree is dominating the NFL divisional round if you take a close look. Behind head coach Dan Reeves, the Broncos went 13-3 and claimed the AFC West Division title. It appears the swelling in the Purdys elbow has gone down enough to undergo surgery. To counter that, Shanahan became Elway's lifting and running partner prior to the 1984 season. Behind an emerging young running back, Terrell Davis, they improved to finish the next season 13-3, but lost in the first round of the playoffs 30-27 to the Jaguars. Allen, on the other hand, despite consistently failing to meet expectations in the postseason, did work in the regular season department, going 116-47 (.712) across 12 seasons as head coach for the Rams and then-Redskins. WebCoaching Tree. Before he was a head coach, Shanahan served as an assistant coach for Jon Gruden, Gary Kubiak, Kubiak had worked most of career, both playing and coaching, with Shanahans father Mike during his time with the Denver Broncos and the San Francisco 49ers. If this list were based entirely on totals, Parcells would be at the top, but on a per-season basis, he falls flat in comparison to the best tree. Shanahan also worked with offensive coordinator Galen Hall. Hackett worked with Mikes brother, Matt, in Green Bay. In the clip above from the Texans (Kubiak) at Washington (Mike and Kyle Shanahan) in 2010, Washington is running the leak play out of 12 personnel. However, Shanahan only stayed in Denver two seasons. After McVays success with the Rams, teams came knocking for even more coaches in that tree. The New York Giants are headed towards their second straight losing season and third straight season without making the playoffs, putting head coach Tom Coughlin firmly on the hot seat. They coached 64 seasons in total, but only 52 in the Super Bowl era, earning four titles in that span, or one every 13 years (fourth-best). Shanahan became a coaching factory. In 1980, Shanahan, as the offensive coordinator, helped the team to an 8-4 record and a fourth-place finish in the SEC. WebKyle Michael Shanahan (born December 14, 1979) is an American football coach who is the head coach for the San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League (NFL). However, OConnell is a new branch on this highly sought-after coaching tree. Ho ho ho, folks! The Jackson 5 had Tito. Gruden was the coach that first allowed him to become a coordinator. ago. Saleh said he's not married to the idea of hiring a Kyle Shanahan disciple, as he did with LaFleur. This angle of Matthew Stafford's no-look pass. Sean McVay gave the ball to his best player and thats why theyre champs.pic.twitter.com/08hLaaxjRv, DJ Sixsmith (@DJ_Sixsmith) February 14, 2022. Kyle Shanahan became the Cleveland Browns' offensive coordinator in 2014. That said, even with his presence, Walshs tree ranks eighth in regular season win percentage and sixth in postseason win percentage. Its the best tree the NFL has ever seen, perhaps the greatest the league will ever see. Kyle Shanahan and his offensive scheme emerged in 2016 when the Falcons tied for 8th most points in NFL history, a place the 2016 Falcons offense shares with Greatest Show on Turf St. Louis Rams. Thats what gave the edge to Dungy. Their three conference championships rank dead last among coaches on this list and although their two Super Bowl wins make up for the lack of pennants, Reid disciples still average 32.5 years of coaching for every Super Bowl title, which ranks pretty low among all other head coaches on this list. All in all, Paul Browns tree may not have been around the longest, but they made the most of what they were given, and always came out on top when games mattered most. Skip forward two decades, and Mike Shanahans coaching tree is finally starting to blossom. In 1985, Shanahan added the titles of offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach to his name. Sure, it works for Belichick. 10. Couple that fact with their four Super Bowl wins and its easy to understand why this tree ranks so high. 10 mo. It starts with Gary Kubiak, a longtime colleague of Mike Shanahan, giving Kyle Shanahan his first job as an NFL position coach in 2006. The Broncos missed the playoffs each of the next three seasons, causing Shanahan to be fired at the end of the 2008 season. Gruden was the coach that first allowed him to become a coordinator. LaFleur , Taylor, McDaniels and Kyle Shanahan have all assembled excellent coaching staffs that [Schefter] - Former Monday Night Football analyst Brian Griese is leaving ESPN to become the Quarterbacks Coach for the 49ers, sources tell Seth Wickersham and me. In 2019, Kubiak took over as an offensive consultant with the Vikings and became the offensive coordinator in 2020 with Kevin Stefanskis departure to the Cleveland Browns (yet another team implementing the same scheme). This tree is carried by Chuck Noll and George Allen. Has Saleh extended his search beyond the Shanahan coaching tree? And most of them went for big plays or touchdowns. The Gators went 0-10-1 the year before Shanahan was hired, the worst in school history. Denver won the game 23-20 in overtime. After nearly ten years in the college ranks, Shanahan entered the NFL with the Denver Broncos. Howell (pictured, middle) only produced four head coaches in the NFL, but two of those head coaches are widely-regarded as two of the greatest coaches in NFL history Tom Landry and Vince Lombardi. In the video above from the Falcons 2016 season, you can see how each read develops. 10) Kevin Sumlin, Texas A&M Head Coach But hes able to get up and sprint to the end zone for the touchdown. His next head coaching stint was with the Denver Broncos from 1995 to 2008, as he led the team to a 138-86-0 record. The Washington Commanders took Cousins in the []. Therefore, Reid falls under Holmgrens tree, not Walshs. Matthew Stafford, Sean McVay, and OConnell made a conscious decision about how they were going to win this game. This season, LeFleur and the Packers won 13 games again with a 13-4 record while winning the NFC North a third straight year. I debated for a while on whether Dungy or Reid deserved this spot. As the defense is rolling their coverage and running with the crossing routes, no one picks up the leak receiver (tight end Fred Davis #86) and he goes for 62 yards. Cooper Kupp beats Eli Apple for the Game Winning Touchdown. For his expertise in that magical scheme, Shanahan was hired as the head coach of the San Francisco 49ers on February 6, 2017. In 2014, LeFleur departed the team and went on to become Notre Dame's quarterback coach for a season. We know the Niners are determined to build through the trenches. The coaches that run the Shanahan scheme all use zone runs and play action passes that look identical to their run plays. Shanahan's coaching tree doesn't just consist of today's creative offensive minds. There are 20+ professionals named "Michael Shanahan", who use LinkedIn to exchange information, ideas, and opportunities. The next head coach of the Vikings linked up with McVay for the first time before the 2020 season. All have some sort of stem to the Mike Shanahan coaching tree and, to an extent, Kyle Shanahan and Sean McVay. The number 11 ranked Gators went on to win the Gator Bowl over number 10 ranked Iowa 14-6. 644. r/49ers. In his first season as head coach of the Denver Broncos, the team went 8-8. With what these young, hotshot head coaches have accomplished in the NFL in a short amount of time, its easy to understand why the Vikings and Dolphins wanted in. I dont care how great an offensive coordinator or defensive genius these people were. On the leak play, the leak route is usually run by the tight end (sometimes a receiver or fullback too) and the result is he more often than not wide open the opposite way. We want your feedback, let us know at feedback@pro-football-history.com. As the offensive coordinator for the 49ers Steve Young won AP Offensive Player of the Year and Most Valuable Player (2) and Jerry Rice won AP Offensive Player of the Year. Defenders caught in the mix have to turn and locate the receivers after running full speed for 7-8 yards. Coaching tree. That said, the Reid tree is still going strong in the NFL, and maybe in a few years, its branches will have earned their way up this list. When comparing the Belichick coaching tree to the Shanahan/McVay tree, its evident that the iron-fist coaching style of Belichick is impossible to transfer to other organizations effectively. All have some sort of stem to the Mike Shanahan coaching tree and, to an extent, Kyle Shanahan and Sean McVay. WebKyle Shanahan Coaching Tree. In addition to Youngs awards, wide receiver Jerry Rice won Offensive Player of the Year in 1993. NFL head coaches under whom Mike Shanahan has served: Barry Switzer, University of Oklahoma (1975) Dan The father of them all, the coach who gave Shanahan his first offensive coordinator job, Gary Kubiak, spent 2019 as an offensive consultant with the Minnesota Vikings. Nobody knew how to win like Paul Browns tree in the playoffs (I counted AFL/NFL championship games as postseason games because why not). Shanahans top protg, Mike McDaniel, brings arguably the leagues best offense featuring a host of former 49ers to town on Sunday in what figures to be an extremely entertaining matchup. In 2005, Mike McDaniel served as an offensive assistant under Mike Shanahan with the Denver Broncos. Through the 2016 season, he was semi-retired due to health issues he had been dealing with since 2013. Another reason he should be in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Sticking with the tree theme, for every gorgeous ornament, theres a flickering light that absolutely shouldnt be flickering. Kyle Shanahan and Mike McDaniel are both on track to make the postseason this year, and who knows what will happen then. Throughout the 21st Century, the NFLs most popular coaching trees came from either Bill Belichick or Andy Reid. I do think that if McVay wants to return to key offensive concepts that he learned he might try to return to people he knows who can teach that system. The team finished 9-2-1 overall and third in the SEC with a number 6 national ranking to boot. His .632 win percentage across 16 seasons is incredible and undoubtedly makes up for Rod Marinellis abysmal 10-38 (.208) record. Former Northern Arizona head coach Joe Salem was recently hired by the Golden Gophers. They are also returning several players from injury, which can only help against the 49ers. Bill Belichick is arguably the greatest head coach of all time, and his coaching tree has produced a myriad of stinkers like Matt Patricia, Josh McDaniels (solid OC, though), Bill OBrien (turned sour real quick), and Nick Saban (remember, this is considering their accomplishments as an NFL head coach). After that, Shanahan accepted the offensive coordinator position with the San Francisco 49ers. Mike Shanahan and his coaching pedigree are well respected in the NFL and his impact on the game still shows today. The offenses these coaches employ are heavily inspired by former Denver and Washington head coach Mike Shanahan. Join. He had an impact on defensive coaches, too. Third, and I shouldnt have to say this, but this list is my preference. It doesnt have any of the total accolades youd want from an elite tree, but on a per-season basis, you could argue Shanahans tree deserves to be top-three. Kyle Shanahan coaching tree: 49ers head coach has budding branches, following in dad's footsteps Joe Rivera 3 min read (Getty Images) The apple doesn't fall far from the tree. Kyle Shanahan has spawned a number of talented HCs Kyle Shanahan comes from an illustrious coaching family tree, largely thanks to his legendary father, Mike Shannan. After the defense commits to the flood and sinks underneath the corner, the receiver breaks his route back across the field toward the far post. This will be the second post-season appearance for the 49ers since Shanahan took over in 2017, as he's piled up a 39-42 head coaching record with the 49ers. After taking the head coaching job of the New York Jets a year ago, Robert Saleh took Mike LaFleur (former 49ers staffer and brother to Matt) with him as his offensive coordinator. Apologies for the whiners site. Shanahan would spend a total of four seasons in Throughout the 21st Century, the NFLs most popular coaching trees came from either Bill Belichick or Andy Reid. Yikes! Whether old-school football fans who grew up on Bud Grant, Bill Parcells, Bill Belichick, or even Mike Zimmer want to admit it, the results of the Shanahan/McVay and Belichick coaching trees speak for themselves. The offenses these coaches employ are heavily inspired by former Denver and Washington head coach Mike Shanahan. Yes, Jon Gruden also adds a title to Holmgrens tree, but six playoff appearances across 15 seasons as a head coach isnt as great as youd like your second-best disciple to be. Mike Shanahan was a football coach in the National Football League (NFL) from 1984 to 2013, finishing his career as the head coach of the Washington Redskins. Copyright 2012-2023 Pro Football History.com. His players have no choice but to shut up and get in line simply because Belichicks track record speaks for itself. Shanahans time in Los Angeles was extremely tumultuous as he was not popular with either the players or owner Al Davis. San Fran ('17) LA Rams ('17) Green Bay ('19) Cincinnati ('19) NY Jets ('21) LA Chargers ('21) Miami ('22) Minnesota ('22)#Skol, Rob Searles (@RobBob17) February 14, 2022. So lets take a look at how the current NFL head coaches of the Shanahan/McVay tree stack up against other current head coaches from the Reid and Belichick trees. Eastern Illinois had finished the 1977 season 1-10. Bill Conkright only lasted one year. I really hope I covered everything. But schemes never stay the same, and the best coaches learn and adapt and implement new wrinkles all the time. Kyles got his own tree starting with Mike McDaniel in Miami, Michaels noted. The coaching tree has combined for two championships, most recently in 2021 by the Los Angeles Rams, led by Sean McVay. Noll did all the heavy lifting on the postseason end, winning every Super Bowl title on Gillmans tree and accounting for four of the six conference championships. What set the Shanahan lineage of coaches apart was the addition of the wide/outside-zone running scheme. One variation the Shanahan tree will throw at the defense if they sense a naked boot and cheat back across or take away the intermediate crossers is to run a corner post behind the defense. Shanahan returned to Denver the following season, 1990, as quarterbacks coach. Kyle Shanahan seemingly has a member of his coaching staff poached every single year as teams look for a new play-caller and head coach. Like Shanahan, McVay began his career as a head-coach in 2017. They won a conference championship (including pre-Super Bowl AFL/NFL championships) once every 5.4 seasons nearly twice as often as Parcells tree has (once every nine seasons). Dan Reeves reached the playoffs nine times! In 2015, he won a Super Bowl with Peyton Manning as the quarterback. The result is he usually gets wide open for a big play. Confirmed Combine meetings hint at a focus on the defensive spine. The Broncos lost to the Colts in the same round the following season 49-24. His When the going got tough, Landrys children, more often than not, crumbled under the pressure. Breaking down the Shanahan coaching tree and offense, Lances QB coach: The 49ers organization has someone who is really special, Quincy Avery took a few minutes to speak with Jordan on Trey Lances progress, work ethic, and why the 49ers have a special quarterback, 49ers QB Brock Purdy is expected to undergo elbow surgery next week. Reid has had 11 assistants become head coaches during his career. Yes, Mike Ditka put together arguably the greatest team in NFL history, but that was his only conference championshipacross seven playoff appearances. WebCoaching Tree. The Saints may have been prepared to see something like the corner post, and Shanahan still stayed one step ahead by utilizing a different personnel grouping and out of shotgun. And when you remove Reids postseason accomplishments, his assistants have a slightly lower combined winning percentage than Shanahan and McVays assistants at .525. As Packers cornerback Kevin King (No. Hackett worked with Mikes brother, Matt, in Green Bay. The 2013 Washington coaching staff was unreal. On the very next play, McVay called Kupps number yet again on a speed out at the pylon drawing another pass interference. Kyle Shanahan seemingly has a member of his coaching staff poached every single year as teams look for a new play-caller and head coach. Its just a solid, jolly centerpiece that embodies the Christmas spirit. At 25 years old, Shanahan worked under Darrell Mudra, who was brought on to revive the Eastern Illinois football program. When a third-down pass interference penalty on Kupp gave the Rams new life, the Super Bowl MVP had a touchdown called back after off-setting penalties. Griese and Kyle Shanahan have known each other for years; Griese played QB in Tampa when Shanahan was on the Bucs coaching staff. Apologies for the whiners site. Its hard to compete with that. He coached them for four seasons and the team had a 24-40-0 record during his tenure. I do think that if McVay wants to return to key offensive concepts that he learned he might try to return to people he knows who can teach that system. Join. LaFleur , Taylor, McDaniels and Kyle Shanahan have all assembled excellent coaching staffs that WebKyle Michael Shanahan (born December 14, 1979) is an American football coach who is the head coach for the San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League (NFL). Outside of Belichick, there isnt a single branch of this coaching tree in the NFL today that has won a playoff game. The passing offense and its concepts are still very much influenced by Walsh. After a year to forget in Minnesota, Shanahan took the experience in stride and landed a job in the Southeastern Conference with the University of Florida Gators. I do think that if McVay wants to return to key offensive concepts that he learned he might try to return to people he knows who can teach that system. The play is designed to look like a three-level flood concept to the boundary with outside zone run action opposite, with Kittle on the corner-post route. During his three seasons with the Gators, Shanahan coached several NFL draft picks, including future NFL head coach Mike Mularkey. First, to understand the lineage, we need a brief primer from where it all began. Thats damn near untouchable. My family has me. Shanahans tree is the only tree to not have a single coach with a sub-.500 record. Personal Information The Packers A good chunk of who he is, after all, comes from being part of the gigantic Mike Shanahan coaching tree. Matt LaFleur would join them. 31) immediately close on the deep crosser. We use cookies and other tracking technologies to improve your browsing experience on our site, show personalized content and targeted ads, analyze site traffic, and understand where our audiences come from. 644. r/49ers. Christmas is here, and good ol jolly St. Nick is heading down the chimney with exactly what you asked for. He led the Broncos to back-to-back Super Bowl championships in the 1997 and 1998 seasons, during which time the Broncos set a then-record for victories in two seasons. Unless McVay retires, which was rumored ahead of this season, before the inevitable toll calls, he might drop below the .500 threshold within three or four years. WebView the profiles of professionals named "Michael Shanahan" on LinkedIn. If he gets fired, who are the top candidates to take his place? What set the Shanahan lineage of coaches apart was the addition of the wide/outside-zone running scheme. In 2022, the Shanahan/McVay coaching tree will occupy 25% of the NFL. Since some of the coaches on these trees coached before the Super Bowl era, I had to only count seasons in which they coached in the Super Bowl era into consideration for that stat, obviously. So, although some trees may have higher postseason percentages than others on this list, that doesnt necessarily mean they were better at getting to the postseason. Despite coaching for 71 seasons, Landrys disciples only amassed one Super Bowl. The team ran the wishbone offense, the same set Shanahan quarterbacked in high school. Coming into this past season, the Shanahan/McVay and Reid coaching trees were tied with six head coaches that held jobs in the NFL. While in the hospital, a priest was summoned to present Shanahans last rites. Dungys tree has a better regular season record though, and despite coaching for eleven fewer seasons than Reids tree, they also have one more conference championship. After three seasons, Shanahan returned to Denver for his third stint with the team, this time as head coach. The second seed in the NFC also has a Mike Shanahan tree member or more realistically a Shanahan branch since Kyle brought this coach with him to Washington from Houston with Matt LaFleur. NFL head coaches under whom Mike Shanahan has served: Barry Switzer, University of Oklahoma (1975) Dan Aside from the two Ive already mentioned, only one other head coach managed to reach a Super Bowl: Raymond Berry. McVay stayed with Washington following the 2014 season and was promoted to be their offensive coordinator for the until 2017. That .156 win percentage is tied for the third-worst of any coach on any tree in this list with Chris Palmer, ahead of only Bill Conkright (1-8; .111) and Cam Cameron (1-15; .063). After his two seasons in Flagstaff, Shanahan moved back close to home to his alma mater, Eastern Illinois, as the Panthers offensive coordinator. The current Kyle Shanahan contract makes the San Francisco 49ers head coach the 7th highest-paid head coach in the NFL this season, tied with Las Vegas Raiders coach Josh McDaniels.The 49ers headman still has three years left on the current Kyle Shanahan contract, but if he makes the Super Bowl, the team might rip up the current If he gets fired, who are the top candidates to take his place?