San Francisco 49ers Hall of Fame quarterback Steve Young loves what current head coach Kyle Shanahan is doing on offense. He praised his old team’s current play-caller for his innovative style, but in true 90s 49ers player fashion, he couldn’t help but throw in a little dig at the Dallas Cowboys and their current head coach, Mike McCarthy.

The 49ers and the Cowboys were two of the best teams in the NFC last season, finishing 13-4 and 12-5, respectively. Both teams head into 2023 with a lot of talent on offense and some question marks at quarterback.

But Super Bowl-winning 49ers QB Steve Young thinks the big difference between the two traditional rivals is that Kyle Shanahan is one of the most creative and pioneering play-callers in the league, while Mike McCarthy and former offensive coordinator Kellen Moore were stuck back in McCarthy's glory days, almost a decade later.

“The 49ers have a head coach who is as innovative as anybody in the league, at a time when the Cowboys last year are running 2015 plays and don’t have a chance,” Young told the San Francisco Chronicle. “Kyle leans in and figures out ways to make it better for quarterbacks. So we’re ahead of the game already right there. And then we have as good a roster as anybody — it’s not perfect, but it’s as good as anybody.”

We’ll get to see if Young is right in his assessment pretty early in the 2023 NFL season. The Cowboys travel to play the 49ers on Sunday Night Football in Week 5 on Sunday, October 8.