Aside from a two-year stint with the Sacramento Mountain Lions of the now-defunct United Football League, Mike McDaniel has been with Kyle Shanahan at every stop since the 2006 season.
McDaniel, 38, has risen up the ranks as an NFL assistant coach from Houston to Washington to Cleveland to Atlanta, and now with the 49ers.
He became 49ers offensive coordinator this offseason after former passing game coordinator Mike LaFleur left to become the New York Jets’ offensive coordinator under first-year coach Robert Saleh.
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But the new job title does not mean a change in his game-day responsibilities, and that is completely logical to McDaniel.
“One of the best aspects the San Francisco 49ers have going is we have one of the best play-callers to have done it,” McDaniel said of Shanahan, his boss.
McDaniel said the team is making the best use of its resources to continue with the same routine as past seasons.
“He’s done it for multiple teams for years, and it’s a real gift of his,” McDaniel said. “I don’t think that does the 49ers any good to try to work me in, selfishly, as the play-caller.
San Francisco 49ers
“We’re very comfortable in our working relationship and he relies on my opinion, but he also makes it very clear his expectation is that my opinion is informed and it adds value to him. That’s really all we’re focused on moving forward.”
McDaniel will continue to lay much of the groundwork for the 49ers’ offense on a game-to-game basis. He will seek input from the team’s other offensive coaches and construct a plan to present to Shanahan.
“One of the things that Kyle isn’t really known for and should be is he is about as collaborative of a coach as you can possibly have,” McDaniel said.
“He hires people he trusts, and on game day, he has an unbelievable ability to do two things at once — to have a narrative in his head but also accept whatever input (he receives) from the coaching staff.”
The 49ers have ranked in the top half of offenses in yards gained in each of the past four seasons despite the issues the club has experienced at quarterback. The team ranked fourth in the NFL (second in points) in 2019, when Jimmy Garoppolo played all 16 games.
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And although Shanahan takes on the most responsibility for games, every assistant coach has a voice in the process, McDaniels said.
“He engenders an atmosphere where guys feel like they want to put in the work and have an idea of different ways to help him call the game,” McDaniel said.
And that does not figure to change any time soon.