Kyle Shanahan is preparing to lead his San Francisco 49ers to a second Super Bowl over the past five years. They’ll match up against the Kansas City Chiefs for the second time in the big game when it kicks off February 11 from Las Vegas.
From his days playing high school football in Northern California and Colorado to a collegiate career at the University of Texas, Shanahan has been a football lifer. He grew up the son of former college and NFL coach Mike Shanahan.
We know all about Shanahan’s success as a coach with the 49ers. We know about his rapidly-expanding coaching tree. But for someone with such a wealth of experience from both a football and non-football perspective, there is still alot we do not know about Shanahan. Let’s find out more here.
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How old is Kyle Shanahan and where was he born?
Interestingly enough, Shanahan was not born in Northern California. He was actually born in Minneapolis, Minnesota. His father was the offensive coordinator for the Minnesota Golden Gophers at the time. Shanahan was born on Dec. 14, 1979. He’s 44 years old.
Kyle Shanahan’s father and a trek around the United States
Mike Shanahan had several jobs for multiple NFL organizations and college football programs during his son’s adolescence. From 1980-83, the older Shanahan coached the Florida Gators’ offense under Charley Pell. He would then take the role of wide receivers coach for the Denver Broncos in 1984, setting into motion a long-term relationship between that organization and the Shanahans.
In 1985, Shanahan was promoted to offensive coordinator by the Broncos under legendary head coach Dan Reeves. He then moved on to be the then-Los Angeles Raiders head coach from 1988-89 before ultimately returning to the Broncos from 1989-91 in a variety of different roles.
This is when the older Shanahan made his way to the San Francisco 49ers as their offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach in 1992. He was promoted to offensive coordinator under George Seifert in 1994 when Kyle Shanahan was 14.
That 1994 team earned the Super Bowl title over the then-Los Angeles Chargers in blowout fashion by the score of 49-26. The younger Shanahan was a fixture around the team. It’s a team that included the father of current 49ers star running back Christian McCaffrey, Ed.
“We go way back to when I was little,” Christian McCaffrey said of Kyle Shanahan back in 2017. “I think he babysat me some times.”
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Kyle Shanahan shares story of babysitting Christian McCaffrey
“If I did [babysit him], I probably left my sister to do it very quickly and moved on. His dad was my hero growing up,” Shanahan said. “I was close with Ed and his wife Lisa — that’s really why I wore 87 in college. Ed was the man. I knew all his sons, they’re a lot younger when I knew them, but they’ve all turned out be pretty good athletes and real good people.”
Kyle Shanahan’s college football career: An oddity
After playing high school football at Cherry Creek High School in Greenwood Village, Colorado, Shanahan accepted a scholarship offer from Carl Frank at Duke University. He then opted to transfer as a red-shirt freshman to the University of Texas in Austin.
During his career at Texas from 1999-2002, Shanahan did not play much. He caught all of 14 passes for 127 yards. He played with the likes of future NFLers Roy Williams, Cedric Benson, Bo Scaife, Mike Williams, Quentin Jammer and Chris Simms.
“I studied every potential Xs and Os play and issue possible. I spent my whole life working on that. My goal was that any question a player could have about anything on the field, I’d be able to answer it,” Shanahan on his college football playing career.
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Kyle Shanahan coaching transition
After his playing time at Texas, Shanahan became a graduate assistant with the UCLA Bruins under Karl Dorrell in 2003. He was then hired by Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Jon Gruden to be their offensive quality control coach in 2004.
In a bit of coincidence, Shanahan joined the Buccaneers the very same offseason that franchise legend and current 49ers general manager John Lynch depart for the Denver Broncos after 11 years in Tampa.
Shanahan would ultimately head to the Houston Texans to be their wide receivers coach in 2006, being promoted to quarterbacks coach the following season and offensive coordinator in 2008.
This is where Shanahan’s coaching career really started down the process we’re seeing today. Working under a head man in Gary Kubiak who his father had coached, Shanahan made some major connections during his time in Houston.
That 2006 Texans coaching staff included former 49ers assistants under Shanahan, current Miami Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel and Robert Saleh of the New York Jets. The 2008 iteration of the Texans would see current Green Bay Packers head coach Matt LaFleur join the coaching staff.
Finally in 2010, Shanahan would join his father in Washington as the team’s offensive coordinator.
The 2011 version of Washington’s coaching staff would end up including Shanahan, LaFleur and McDaniel. It was joined by current Los Angeles Rams head coach Sean McVay and Houston Texans offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik. That’s five future head coaches working under Shanahan’s father.
The rest of Shanahan’s assistant coaching career is by now well known. He spent one season as the Cleveland Browns’ offensive coordinator before heading to the Atlanta Falcons in the same role under Dan Quinn in 2015. Funny enough, Quinn got his start as an NFL coach with the 49ers as an assistant back in 2001.
Kyle Shanahan and the San Francisco 49ers
Shanahan came over to the 49ers as a packaged deal with general manager John Lynch ahead of the 2017 season. San Francisco had just gone through two one-and-done head coaches in that of Jim Tomsula and Chip Kelly after the entire Jim Harbaugh fiasco. Those two posted a disastrous 7-25 record in Northern California.
Taking over the least-talented roster in the NFL, Shanahan and Lynch knew that they would be in for a long road ahead.
After starting his first season with a 1-10 record, Shanahan inserted the recently-acquired Jimmy Garoppolo in at quarterback. He would go on to lead the 49ers to five consecutive wins to close out the season.
The 2018 season started with somewhat elevated expectations, but an injury to Garoppolo three games into the campaign muted things. San Francisco finished with a 4-12 record, leading to questions about Shanahan’s ability to lead the organization out of the doldrums.
Things have since changed big time for the head coach and his organization. They earned a spot in the Super Bowl following the 2019 season, winning 13 games in the process. Despite blowing a 10-point fourth quarter lead to the Chiefs in the big game, the 49ers were back.
That all came crashing down in 2020. Both Garoppolo and Bosa suffered early-season injuries. The 49ers won six games during the COVID-centric NFL season.
Since then, it’s been consistent contention for the 49ers under Shanahan. They’ve earned three consecutive NFC Championship Game appearances and are headed to a second Super Bowl under his watch. This three-year span has seen the 49ers boast a combined 35-16 record.
Kyle Shanahan coaching tree
- Robert Saleh, New York Jets
- Mike McDaniel, Miami Dolphins
- DeMeco Ryans, Houston Texans
Kyle Shanahan wife and family
Kyle and his wife, Mandy, have been married since July of 2005. The couple first dated when they wre in high school, but briefly broke up when she went to Colorado University and he attended Texas. The two reconnected when her mother fell ill in 2002, and ultimately got hitched in 2005.
The Shanahans have three children – daughters Stella, born in 2007, and Lexie, born in 2012, along with son Carter, born in 2008. Mandy also manages all of Kyle’s professional contracts outside of his current deal with the 49ers.
