The 49ers Have the NFL’s 9th-Best QB-Coach Combo per Sports Illustrated

This is a very interesting exercise.

Sports Illustrated’s Matt Verderame recently ranked all the quarterback-coach combinations in the NFL, and he placed the 49ers’ combination of Brock Purdy and Kyle Shanahan ninth among the 32 teams. Individually, he ranked Purdy the 15th-best quarterback and Shanahan the sixth-best head coach.

“Purdy is ranked probably right where he belongs,” writes Verderame. “The 49ers will soon tell us their opinion of the former Mr. Irrelevant with Purdy being extension eligible after the 2024 campaign. Meanwhile, he will try to put together another quality year while Shanahan attempts to win a Super Bowl, the only thing he hasn’t accomplished as a coordinator or coach.”

Verderame implies that Shanahan is better at his job than Purdy currently is, which might not be true, considering Purdy was the NFL’s highest-rated quarterback last season, while Shanahan never has had a no. 1 rated offense in his career. Even his excellent 2016 Falcons offense ranked second in the league. And if he didn’t luck into Purdy with the last pick in the 2022 draft, Shanahan probably would have been fired by now because he traded three first-round picks for Trey Lance. Purdy saved Shanahan’s job.

And Purdy performed much better in the Super Bowl than Shanahan, considering Purdy didn’t choke and Shanahan did. Purdy performed well despite Shanahan getting completely outcoached by Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo, who shut down Shanahan’s run game and generated pressure on Purdy at will.

Purdy is much more important to the 49ers’ present and future than Shanahan and it’s not even close.