With The First Pick
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The San Francisco 49ers Have Hired a Smart Head Coach

By Carl Cockerham

Aug 14, 2016; Santa Clara, CA, USA; San Francisco 49ers offensive guard Joshua Garnett (65) and offensive tackle Fahn Cooper (64) warm up before the game against the Houston Texans at Levi
Aug 14, 2016; Santa Clara, CA, USA; San Francisco 49ers offensive guard Joshua Garnett (65) and offensive tackle Fahn Cooper (64) warm up before the game against the Houston Texans at Levi /
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It already looks like the San Francisco 49ers made the right hire. At 37, Kyle Shanahan appears to be smarter than most head coaching hires.

Kudos to the San Francisco 49ers for hiring a brilliant man to be their head coach. When I say brilliant, I’m not talking about what he does with his offense, which is brilliant too. I’m talking about how he plans to approach being a head coach, which is simple.

Sometimes it is the simplest, common-sense move that can make a coach brilliant. Great coordinators are often hired to improve a team but particularly a certain side of the ball. And too often, the team doesn’t improve and the coach’s area of expertise gets worse.

For example, Rex Ryan is known as a defensive mind but his defense just got him fired. These great coordinators become head coaches and forget what got them hired. They give their area of expertise to someone else while they try to prove they’re great all-around coaches.

But Kyle Shanahan remembers where he came from and plans to run the offense himself. NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported Wednesday that Shanahan plans to be his own offensive coordinator. Every head coach should do what they do best.

He can easily delegate authority on the 49ers defensive and special teams units. In 2016, Shanahan guided the 2016 Atlanta Falcons’ high-flying offense to constant explosive plays. But that was with QB Matt Ryan, WR Julio Jones and RB Devontae Freeman.

He really has to focus on that offense to have any success with what he has in San Francisco. The 49ers are going to add talent to that offense for Shanahan to do some things with. And it is a smart move for him to continue to do what he is great at.