San Francisco 49ers: Could Kyle Shanahan Turn Around Colin Kaepernick?

Kyle Shanahan is like any other competitive football coach. He’s never one to shy away from a challenge, and the San Francisco 49ers present a big one.

Their roster needs a serious makeover from top to bottom, offensively and defensively. It of course will have to start with the quarterback position. Rumors are flying everywhere about possible answers to that critical question. Some believe they’ll make a hard run at Kirk Cousins if he hits free agency. Others think they will push to trade for Patriots backup Jimmy Garoppolo.

Of course holding the #2 pick in the NFL draft also opens them wide to virtually every top option on the board. It stands to reason that the team will exhaust their search through each avenue. One though that some fans might not be prepared for is the in-house option.

According to Jason Cole of Bleacher Report, there are whispers that Shanahan would be interested in keeping Colin Kaepernick on the roster provided he’s willing to take a pay cut.

It sounds like the second verse of a really bad song this fan base has heard before. Chip Kelly made similar promises when he came in last season. His offense was a great fit for the dual threat Kaepernick. He could turn around the QB’s career. Then the team went 2-14 and Kelly was fired. Why should they believe Shanahan suddenly has the magic potion?

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Well partly because he’s a far more proven NFL offensive mind than Kelly is. Shanahan has learned from some greats like his father Mike, Gary Kubiak and Jon Gruden. He understands how to speak quarterback and does a good job of cultivating a scheme around the talents of the player. Kaepernick is still relatively young and at least showed some signs he might be worth one last look. He finished 2016 with 2,241 yards, 16 touchdowns and just four interceptions in 11 starts.

Shanahan has won football games with far less talented players than him.