Well, there’s always a first time. This season was one of those firsts for Kyle Shanahan, where he failed for the 49ers. After playing in the Super Bowl last year, the 49ers ended up in the last spot this year. (Talk about a downfall). And no, you cannot blame it on Christian McCaffrey for appearing on the Madden cover. After the final game of the 2024 debacle, silence in the Niners camp has grabbed attention. This can be alarming.

As the 49ers wrapped up their season on Sunday, people were expecting an end-of-year press conference from the team. But now, the Niners have pushed it back. This delay is making people think there might be some changes in the coaching staff. Wondering what the change might be? Well, the buzz around town is that Nick Sorensen, the 49ers’ defensive coordinator, might have to say goodbye to his job. The Niners found themselves in a similar situation last season when they fired Steve Wilks after losing to the Chiefs in Super Bowl LVIII. 

If they fire Nick Sorensen just a year after promoting him to defensive coordinator, it’s gonna raise a lot of eyebrows. It’ll look like a repeat of the 2023 season for them. The Niners might make Nick a scapegoat, just like they did with Steve Wilks. They parted ways with him after just one year of hiring him, throwing him under the bus for the Super Bowl loss to the Chiefs.

So, it’ll be interesting to see who the Niners blame for this failed season. As of now, we can’t let slide the ‘nepotism’ calls head coach Kyle Shanahan made during the game against the Cardinals.

Kyle Shanahan let Kubiak take over the play-calling duties

The Niners HC On Sunday, for the first time in his head coaching career, did not do the play-calling duties for his team. Instead, he gave the honor to Klay Kubiak. Smell of nepotism there? Gary Kubiak’s son, Klay, has been hanging around with the Niners’ coaching staff since 2021. He started as the defensive quality control coach (you know, the guy behind the scenes), then dabbled in quarterback coaching for a bit. This year, they bumped him up to offensive passing game specialist, fancy title, right? Anyway, on Sunday, Klay took over play-calling duties, and the offense managed to rack up 436 yards under his watch. Too bad it didn’t help much, they still lost 47-24. 

There’s a reason why this step got highlighted. Shanahan, himself, is termed as a ‘nepotism’ coach by many. That might be because his father, Mike Shanahan, was the offensive coordinator for the 49ers. And now, Kyle is the head coach. (Talk about a full circle!) If we’re talking about those lines, then one of the greatest coaches in NFL history, Bill Belichick, fits the bill too. Bill’s father, Steve Belichick, was also an NFL coach and scout. But let’s face it, Kyle’s track record doesn’t even come close to Belichick’s. The man has eight Super Bowl titles to his name, six as a head coach and two as a defensive coordinator. Anyway, back to Shanahan.

Kyle Shanahan thought Klay “did a good job” (his words, not ours). But let’s be real—it doesn’t change much now that the season’s a wrap. Maybe next year, Kubiak gets another shot and steps it up a notch. For now, though, we’re all just sitting tight, waiting for that end-of-year press conference. (Fingers crossed for some juicy updates!)