Kyle Shanahan: What if he teams up with Dad again?

Kyle Shanahan’s offensive system seems to have found a good home in Atlanta, but what if the Falcons’ offensive coordinator joins his father again in 2016?

Kyle Shanahan received both a great deal of praise and criticism during his first season as the offensive coordinator with the Atlanta Falcons.

While he did receive some flak for quarterback Matt Ryan‘s struggles adjusting to his West Coast offense, Kyle Shanahan’s zone blocking scheme transformed a once porous offensive line into a strong one that allowed second-year running back Devonta Freeman to rush for over 1,000 yards en route to his first Pro Bowl.

Overall, the successes of Kyle Shanahan’s 2015 Atlanta Falcons offense outweigh the negatives and Falcons fans should feel pretty excited about what the patented Shanahan ZBS can continue to do for Atlanta’s offense.

More from Atlanta Falcons

If Matt Ryan fully grasps the West Coast passing attack in his second season in the system and the Atlanta front office can upgrade at wide receiver, then the Atlanta Falcons should have one of the better offenses in the NFL in 2016 under Kyle Shanahan’s leadership.

While Shanahan did say that he was honestly excited about all that lies ahead for this club in 2016, what if he leaves Flowery Branch after only one year? How could that happen? Here’s how:

Kyle Shanahan’s father Mike Shanahan is looking for one more opportunity as a head coach in the National Football League. The elder Shanahan won two Super Bowls with John Elway as his starting quarterback in the late 1990s with the Denver Broncos.

After a tremendously successful era in Denver, Shanahan went to work for the Washington Redskins, bringing his son Kyle to the nation’s capital as Washington’s offensive coordinator. While the Redskins had a strong 2012 campaign, the Robert Griffin, III experiment in Washington became a disaster, costing the Shanahans their jobs in DC.

Mike has been out of the league for two seasons, while Kyle has been the offensive coordinator for the 2014 Cleveland Browns and the 2015 Atlanta Falcons. Should Mike Shanahan get another head coaching gig in hypothetically San Francisco, would Kyle Shanahan join his dad as the new offensive coordinator of the 2016 49ers? Where would that leave Dan Quinn and the Atlanta Falcons?

Should Mike Shanahan become the next head coach of the 49ers, it probably isn’t in Kyle Shanahan’s best interest to team up with his dad again for three reasons:

1.) San Francisco is sneakily one of the five most dysfunctional organizations in the National Football League. Take out the four years of Jim Harbaugh and this organization has been atrocious since firing Steve Mariucci

2.) Kyle Shanahan is starting to earn a great deal of respect from his players and colleagues as a sound offensive mind that could become an NFL head coach one day. His offenses can always run the football and the passing game usually isn’t too shabby either. Pairing up with his dad again in the Bay Area only slows down the progress of his own reputation as a football coach. He doesn’t need his dad anymore to have success, he’s already cultivated plenty on his own.

3.) Should Kyle Shanahan leave the Atlanta Falcons after only one year, that would make him have a new employer for the fourth year in a row as an offensive coordinator (Washington, Cleveland, Atlanta, San Francisco?). That doesn’t bode well for future head coaching opportunities, as that inability to stick anywhere for the long-term will certainly come up.

Hypothetically where would Dan Quinn look for a replacement at offensive coordinator? In all honesty, that’s a scary thought. Former Cleveland Browns offensive coordinator John DeFilippo? Former Philadelphia Eagles offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur? Former San Francisco 49ers offensive coordinator Geep Chryst?

I would have suggested New York Giants offensive coordinator Ben McAdoo but it seems like he will replace Tom Coughlin as the Giants head coach. Bringing back Dirk Koetter would be great for the passing game, but the running game and offensive line play would regress. Plus, Koetter is likely going to become a head coach this coach cycle anyway. He’s earned it.

In reality, it seems unlikely that Mike Shanahan will get the 49ers head coaching gig, as owner Jed York and general manager Trent Baalke are decisively split on hiring the elder Shanahan. What this hypothetical does bring to light is that the Atlanta Falcons likely won’t want Kyle Shanahan to go anywhere.

Their offense has made real progress in 2015, the team’s head coach Dan Quinn a defensive-minded coach, and besides Chip Kelly who is above a coordinator gig at this point anyway, who is better available option for an offensive coordinator than what the Atlanta Falcons already have in Kyle Shanahan?

Next: Dan Quinn: Can he navigate Falcons' brutal 2016 schedule?

I’m optimistic that Kyle Shanahan and most of Dan Quinn’s 2015 staff remain in place for 2016, but I would be lying to you if I wasn’t worried about Shanahan pairing up with his dad again should Mike Shanahan get another head coaching opportunity in 2016.

Home/Atlanta Falcons