Is San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan a wizard? Well, if you listen to George Kittle, the answer is yes.
Joining Barstool's “Pardon My Take” podcast, Kittle talked about a play in which Shanahan accurately predicted that a pass interference penalty would occur on Kittle on a play.
“No, he said that when he installed the play on Thursday for a third-down play,” George Kittle detailed about the 49ers coach, per NBC Sports. “He goes, ‘Look, when we're in this formation and this guy covers you, he always holds. So just push him inside and break out, he's gonna hold you.' And I was like, ‘All right, sound good.' And then it happened.
“Like I said, the dude's a wizard. It's pretty fun to play for him.”
The play Kittle is referring to was the big third down play in the fourth quarter of the NFC Championship game last season between the 49ers and the Green Bay Packers. Shanahan told the sideline official before the snap to watch out for a pass interference penalty.
“5-yard out route, 85 versus their guy,” Shanahan told the official. “He's gonna go inside and break out, (the defender) won't let [tight end George Kittle] out. Watch.”
It happened precisely as Shanahan had predicted, leading multiple penalty flags to be thrown.
This is Kyle Shanahan's genius: being able to draw up plays and foresee things that most would not. This is also one of the key reasons why the 49ers ranked fourth in the league in total yards per game and second in rushing yards per game.
The dynamic and almost super-human offense was enough to get the 49ers to the Super Bowl in 2019, but not quite enough to get the Vince Lombardi Trophy. Shanahan looks to work his magic again in 2020 and finish what he started last season. Only time will tell if the wizard is able to do it again.
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