Kyle Shanahan & 49ers Agreed on Contract Extension Before Draft: Report

GETTY Head coach Kyle Shanahan of the San Francisco 49ers celebrates with general manager John Lynch after the game against the Houston Texans at NRG Stadium on December 10, 2017 in Houston, Texas.

After building for two seasons and an eventual trip to Super Bowl LIV, the San Francisco 49ers had no problems locking up Kyle Shanahan to an extension.

However, while official news of the head coach’s extension with San Francisco came out this week, The Athletic’s Matt Barrows reported that the two sides came to an agreement even before the NFL Draft.

While ESPN was first to the news that Shanahan and the 49ers were signing, Barrows’ report adds that the 49ers and CEO Jed York pretty much always had this planned since a dominant win in the NFC Championship, and that general manager John Lynch could be expected to receive a similar extension soon.

Also appealing: Shanahan’s contract extension was quickly and easily hashed out between Shanahan and York before the NFL Draft in April, and news of it didn’t leak until this month.

York had been hinting at contract extensions for Shanahan and Lynch, 48, since the 49ers handily won the NFC Championship Game at Levi’s Stadium in January. The question now is how the 49ers will proceed with Lynch, who was named the league’s executive of the year by the Pro Football Writers of America after last season.

Jed York Comments in January

In Barrows’ report, he references comments from Jed York in a presser from January, after the aforementioned win over the Green Bay Packers to ensure the 49ers a trip to Miami, Florida for a clash with the Kansas City Chiefs.

“Their strengths complement one another,” York said. “And neither one of them is trying to elbow the other to get to the front of the line to say, ‘I’m the executive of the year’ or ‘I’m the coach of the year.’ They’re happy for the other one. They’re happy for everybody’s success. And I think that’s both their personalities. It’s awesome.”

A mutually satisfying relationship between general manager and head coach is a mandatory requirement for success in the NFL, and the fact that York is that positive and enthusiastic about describing their relationship only makes sense after their recent success as a pair.

Further Details on Shanny’s Contract

Shanahan’s deal sees him stick with the 49ers through the 2025 season, and comes after three years into his first contract with San Francisco, which was initially had three years left.

In ESPN’s initial report, it was said that Shanahan’s new contract will take him from being one of the lowest-paid coaches in the NFL to somewhere in the top five, although neither ESPN or Barrow’s report contains specific details on how much Shanahan will be paid going forward.

To add some context, Baltimore Ravens coach Jim Harbaugh was scheduled to make $9 million in 2020 at a reported $9 million a year, which had Harbaugh sitting as the fifth-highest paid coach.

Barrows also mentioned that Zac Taylor, who just spent his rookie year as an HC with the 2-14 Cincinnati Bengals, was expected to earn more than Shanahan in 2020 before the extension, so it only seemed necessary for San Francisco to give their coach a raise.

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Evan Reier is a sportswriter covering the San Francisco 49ers for Heavy.com and local sports for the Montana Standard in Butte, MT. Follow and reach out to him on Twitter at @evanreier.