San Francisco 49ers: Would Mike Shanahan Make Sense as Offensive Coordinator?

Rumors are swirling about the San Francisco 49ers’ choice for offensive coordinator, and one such rumor is particularly surprising.  As first reported by Dianna Marie Russini of Washington’s NBC affiliate, Mike Shanahan is still in play for the 49ers offensive coordinator job.

What?!

To say hiring Shanahan as an offensive coordinator would be unprecedented is an understatement.  Shanahan has plenty of offensive coordinator experience; he served as the 49ers coordinator from 1992 through 1994, winning Super Bowl XXIX in the process.  Before that, he had spent four years as coordinator for the Denver Broncos and six years at various colleges.

David Zalubowski/Associated Press

Oh, yeah, and then he went on to become head coach of the Denver Broncos, winning two Super Bowls and compiling a career 170-138 record.  That might be slightly more impressive than new head coach Jim Tomsula’s career 1-0 record.

I tried to find another example of a head coach anywhere as successful as Shanahan coming back to a lesser role; really, I did.  No other Super Bowl-winning coach has ever stepped back to become a coordinator.  Shanahan’s 170 wins would be the most ever for a coordinator as well.  As far as I can tell, the record currently is held by Norv Turner, who has 114 career victories while actively serving as the offensive coordinator for the Minnesota Vikings.

There’s a huge gap, however, between Turner’s success as a head coach and Shanahan’s.  Turner doesn’t even have a career winning record, while Shanahan has one of the top 60 winning percentages of all time.

How would that mesh with Jim Tomsula?  Even two coaches with nearly identical offensive philosophies must occasionally differ on key decisions, whether that’s something as overarching as sticking with a certain quarterback or as specific as whether or not to go for it on a given fourth down.  How would Shanahan, who has been described as power hungry by many, including Lowell Cohn, take being overruled by a head coach with almost no significant experience?  It seems, to me, to be a recipe for conflict and disaster.

That’s before getting into the question as to whether or not Shanahan would be a good fit for this 49ers team.  While he has had plenty of career success in the NFL, his teams missed the playoffs in six of his last seven seasons.  It’s been a long time since he has put together offenses that have had sustained success; his offenses haven’t finished in the top 15 in points in back-to-back seasons since 2004 and 2005.

Nick Wass/Associated Press

You also have to wonder about his ability to develop young quarterbacks.  As an offensive coordinator and head coach, Shanahan has put together 16 winning seasons, but only six of them saw him use a quarterback 28 years or younger, which Colin Kaepernick will be in 2015—three years with John Elway as offensive coordinator with the Broncos, two non-consecutive seasons with Brian Griese in the early 2000s and one year with Robert Griffin in 2012.  Conversely, seven of his 10 non-winning seasons have come with young quarterbacks, from Jay Schroeder to Brian Griese to Jay Cutler to Robert Griffin.

All in all, while Shanahan would be a splash hiring after the relatively disappointing PR splash of the Tomsula hire, I’m not convinced it would be the best move for the team for a number of reasons.

That’s not to say the 49ers shouldn’t look for a veteran coordinator, preferably one with head coaching experience.  Shanahan’s an odd case because he’s had so much success that it might be difficult, ego-wise, to get overruled by a rookie head coach.  Someone who knows what it takes to be a head coach but has had far more success as a coordinator, on the other hand, might be able to give Tomsula the benefit of their expertise without as much of an ego clash when it comes to running the day-to-day operations on the offense.

That’s why I like two of the other rumored names for coordinator better—either former Bears head coach Marc Trestman or former Browns head coach Rob Chudzinski.

Don Wright/Associated Press

According to Matt Maiocco, Chudzinski will be “targeted” for the job once the Indianapolis Colts are out of the playoffs—Chudzinski is currently serving as the Colts’ special assistant and thus could not interview until this week’s loss to New England.  Chudzinski has served as offensive coordinator for the University of Miami and the Cleveland Browns, but it’s his time as Cam Newton’s coordinator in Carolina that’s the most intriguing thing about Chudzinski’s potential.  Chudzinski helped lead the Panthers to top-10 rushing attacks in both years he was their offensive coordinator, which fits into Tomsula’s run-first ideals.

Newton’s had mixed appraisals of Chudzinski over the years, but it seems that, on the whole, he felt that Chudzinski helped him significantly in his development as an NFL quarterback.  Indeed, Newton’s two years with Chudzinski produced his two largest passing yards totals to go along with that top rushing offense.  Chudzinski would be my favorite choice for the coordinator position.

Don’t count out Trestman, however.  His tenure with the Chicago Bears ended in disaster, but as a coordinator, he’s had a magic touch with quarterbacks.  He’s worked well with Bernie Kosar, Steve Young, Jake Plummer and Rich Gannon at various stops in his NFL career, and helped produce arguably the best season for all of his quarterbacks.  I think Chudzinski’s a better fit for the type of offense Tomsula wants to run, but Trestman, as a coordinator, is one of the best available names out there.

All in all, however, I think the best thing the 49ers could do with their open offensive coordinator position is hire a veteran with head coaching experience.  Despite Tomsula’s NFL Europe experience, he’s going to need all the talent he can get around him to manage an NFL team.  Installing an offensive coordinator who knows the ins and outs of running an NFL team can only help develop Tomsula as a head coach.

Just perhaps pick someone other than Mike Shanahan.

Bryan Knowles is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report, covering the San Francisco 49ers.  Follow him @BryKno on Twitter.