Getty Kyle Shanahan calls a play while Trey Lance stands behind on December 11, 2022.
Much like the misdirection runs he likes to throw at defenses, Kyle Shanahan caught many off guard by adding a former Pro Bowler to the San Francisco 49ers before the season — who was additionally a past broadcast analyst with zero coaching experience.
Now, while Shanahan has been lauded for getting the 49ers to weather this storm of losing multiple quarterbacks and is lauded as a renowned “quarterback whisperer” in the NFL, a coach outside of the 49ers’ facility told Heavy that he believes the credit stretches beyond Shanahan…and includes the 2000 Pro Bowler with the Denver Broncos Brian Griese.
Opposing Coach Weighs in on Where Credit Goes
One offensive coach spoke with Heavy NFL senior reporter Matt Lombardo on Friday, December 16 nearly 24 hours after watching Brock Purdy throw for 217 yards and two touchdowns in the 21-13 win over the Seattle Seahawks.
The coach believes the rise of Purdy has answered what kind of credit Griese deserves.
“Now that it’s been a couple games [with Purdy], Brian [Griese] definitely deserves some credit,” an NFL offensive coach who spoke on the condition of anonymity told Heavy. “At least he’s been there all year, and played a lot of ball at Iowa State.”
As the QB coach, Griese has zero say in the play-calling and is in no position to suggest to Shanahan what plays or audibles should be ran. But, Griese is responsible for the following: The development of quarterbacks, instilling confidence in them and honing in on improving their technique weekly.
Little did Shanahan and the 49ers know that his first-time position coaching hire would eventually have to work with three different starting quarterbacks in a tremendous job test, with Trey Lance and Jimmy Garoppolo lost for the remainder of the 2022 regular season. But all the 49ers have done is ride on a seven-game winning streak while watching the sudden emergence of Purdy. Griese has earned a share of praise by this offensive coach.
“The coach believes there’s plenty of credit to go around for what San Francisco has accomplished, including to defensive coordinator DeMeco Ryans and offensive line coach Chris Foerster,” Lombardo wrote. “Between the offense Shanahan has built, with the personnel general manager John Lynch has added to the roster, especially trading for Christian McCaffrey, it’s little wonder San Francisco is headed back to the postseason. But, Purdy and Griese certainly deserve their share of credit for steadying the ship down the stretch.”
Lombardo is another giving Griese his due, writing how “Griese’s influence in the quarterbacks room can not be ignored as far as factoring into San Francisco’s consistently high level of play at the position.”
Purdy Delivered High Percentage Mark in Hostile Environment
Before the Thursday Night Football showdown against the NFC West’s second best team, much talk toward Purdy surrounded on how he would handle the loud decibel levels inside Lumen Field…annually one of the loudest venues to play in for opponents.
Purdy, however, showed no signs of being rattled. He not only completed his first 10 passes, but ended up with this high percentage stat during the game as noted by Prime Video Sports Analytics and Insights:
Brock Purdy has thrown 62% of his passes to open receivers tonight. HC Kyle Shanahan has drawn up a great game plan to make it easy for his rookie QB and SF is in control
That means Purdy used his eyes and brain to his advantage in delivering the proverbial smart throws, instead of forcing throws into tight windows. Purdy additionally proved that he can do more than get his wide receivers involved:
Brock Purdy has found his TEs and RBs tonight with great success. He’s 11/14 for 89 yards & 2 TDs. their EPA/TGT is 0.43, an extremely efficient number when measuring how successful these throws have been in helping SF score
And those stats have come in Griese’s first season of wearing a headset and getting his guys to perform QB drills. It’s now looking like Shanahan luring in a first-time coach is proving to be one of the rare surprise success stories of this NFL season.