Getty Kyle Shanahan on January 14, 2023 in Santa Clara.
Not everyone has been on the side of San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan, now because of losing his second straight NFC title game and losing with a depleted quarterback room on January 29.
The calls for Shanahan’s removal not only stretched to media members but also fans who developed strong criticism for him. But now, one former Shanahan player has put those detractors on blast.
Speaking to KNBR’s Murph and Mac Show on Thursday, February 9, former 49ers wide receiver turned NFL analyst Emmanuel Sanders ripped the “Fire Kyle Shanahan” crowd.
“Are you crazy? Are you really crazy?” Sanders asked. “I would never let Kyle Shanahan go. I’ve been in five different organizations, Kyle Shanahan will be a Hall of Fame coach. He was born to do this.”
Sanders Traces Back to Super Bowl Moment
Sanders is familiar with Super Bowl week and one of the opponents: It was four seasons ago when Sanders lined up at wide receiver for Shanahan and had the Kansas City Chiefs to deal with.
The veteran wide receiver was brought over via trade and helped continue the fire the 49ers started that ’19 season. He went on to add 36 catches for 502 yards and scored three touchdowns. His average of 9.5 yards per target was his most since the 10 he averaged during his Pro Bowl season of 2014. That 2019 campaign went on to become his third taste of the Super Bowl.
But out of all the highlight moments he had with the 49ers, there’s one play that still gets brought up: The missed deep shot Jimmy Garoppolo took against the Chiefs that fell incomplete. Sanders, to this day, is reflective of that play in Miami.
“I thought if I would’ve made that catch it would have been legendary,” Sanders said. “Then I looked at the time and I think it was like 1 min and 40 secs left. I’m like ‘Patrick Mahomes beat me with 13 seconds left last year.'” I’m like who knows if it would’ve been legendary.”
Sanders added, “Obviously, I wanted to make that play for Niner nation, my teammates and myself…it would’ve been awesome to make that catch. But at the same time, and I tell people this all the time, the game of football doesn’t come down to one play. I can look back and tell you several plays and say I could’ve ran a route different.”
Sanders: ‘The Niners are Going to Have Their Time’
Again, his most verbose take on KNBR was on defending his former head coach with the 49ers.
“Sometimes, teams get spoiled: ‘We almost made it and in the disappointment of almost made it, we need to get rid of this guy!’ But imagine not even almost getting there…that’s the type of situation that you get into with firing a coach like Shanahan,” Sanders explained. “You’ve got to appreciate the fact that you go into games every game with an opportunity. You were in the NFC Championship game last year, and you were in it this year with ‘Mr. Irrelevant’ at quarterback. You’re close.”
He ended with: “The Niners are going to have their time. They’ve got to be patient. But definitely don’t get rid of Kyle Shanahan. What he’s doing out there is special.”