Copyright Newsweek
For the second season in a row, the San Francisco 49ers have been hit hard by the injury bug. Wide receivers Jauan Jennings and Ricky Pearsall, tight end George Kittle, and starting quarterback Brock Purdy have all missed a considerable amount of time. The 49ers have lost defensive end Nick Bosa, middle linebacker Fred Warner, and rookie defensive lineman Mykel Williams to season-ending injuries. As this season has moved along, they have had to deal with one new injury after another. Some teams in the NFL may have subconsciously waived the white flag at some point, but the Niners haven't. In fact, they have kept winning the majority of their games, and after defeating the New York Giants this past Sunday, they improved to 6-3, putting them just half a game out of first place in the NFC West. Head coach Kyle Shanahan has definitely earned every penny of his contract so far this season, at least in the mind of Fox Sports 1 commentator Colin Cowherd. On a recent episode of "The Herd w/ Colin Cowherd," the commentator said that his pick for NFL Coach of the Year is Shanahan, and he explained why. “My Coach of the Year is Kyle Shanahan. He’s winning with peanut brittle, baling wire and duct tape. They have no healthy players. The 49ers are 6-3 with a backup quarterback. Third down offense, despite a bad offensive line, is top 3 in the league. Basically the offense is Christian McCaffrey and cross your fingers. This is one of the greatest coaching jobs you’ll ever see. They play the [Los Angeles] Rams this weekend who are fully staffed and ready to go, yet it’s only field goal spread.” Read more: 49ers Were Shut Down on Offer for Pro Bowl Pass Rusher Quite often, the true measure of how good a coach is isn't what he does with a stacked roster but how well he does in guiding an undermanned roster, whether it is undermanned due to a lack of talent or, in the case of San Francisco, a rash of injuries. The Niners haven't exactly had a potent offense due to their injuries. They rank 23rd in points scored, and they have heavily relied upon star running back Christian McCaffrey to carry them both on the ground and in the air, which means they lack offensive balance. But they have been winning games not only with defense, but also with overall grit and resilience. They truly seem to have that "next man up" mentality that coaches always talk about, but players don't always embrace. For example, wide receiver Kendrick Bourne, who hasn't gone over 500 receiving yards in a season since 2021, has had some big games with the Niners' forces depleted. He had back-to-back 142 receiving-yard games in Week 4 and Week 5, and on the season, he's at 463 yards on 30 catches. Read more: Tom Brady Doesn’t Hold Back on JJ McCarthy After Vikings Return Tatum Bethune, a second-year man who was a seventh-round draft pick in 2024, has replaced the injured Warner as the team's starting Mike linebacker and has tallied 54 total tackles (24 solo) this season. Fifty of his tackles have come in the last four games (Warner suffered his season-ending ankle injury in Week 6 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers). As Cowherd mentioned, the 49ers will host the Rams this Sunday, and if they manage to win, it could truly give Shanahan a leg up in the race for the Coach of the Year award.
