Most NFL coaches have spent years refining their draft strategy through countless hours of scouting and research. For San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan, his roots stemmed from trying to build up his own franchise in Madden.

According to ESPN's Nick Wagoner, Shanahan recalls making Hall of Fame defensive end Michael Strahan his first pick every year back in high school:

“I'm always down to go defensive lineman if the right guy is there … I can promise you, ask my high school friends when we did Madden and we drafted our own guys, my first pick was always [Hall of Fame defensive end Michael] Strahan. … I always wanted to do D-line.”

Shanahan admits that while his specialty may be on the offensive side of the ball, this does not take away from his affinity for shoring up on valuable pieces for the defense:

“I am an offensive coach, and it's more fun for me in an offense with offensive playmakers, but nothing's more fun than having a defense like we had last year … And I think that gives you the best chance to go to the Super Bowl. And I think that's why John has a Super Bowl ring. I think that's why a lot of people have been on the top defenses, too. And if we have that top defense, I think it's easier to manufacture it on offense where not many people manufacture a defense. That defense better be more talented than almost everyone they're going against.”

It is safe to say that Shanahan's approach has certainly worked for the best. The 49ers established a recipe for success during the 2019 campaign that was built on shutting teams down with their formidable defense. Meanwhile, his offense would follow up with a strong run game to dominate the time of possession.

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Although the old saying goes that defense tends to win championships, that was not the case after San Franciso came up short against the Kansas City Chiefs' high-powered offense in Super Bowl LIV.

Regardless, Shanahan is hoping that this event will ultimately prove to be an outlier as they look to follow the same blueprint that paved the way for their resurgence by keeping it going in the 2020 NFL season.