Kyle Shanahan has been the head coach of the San Francisco 49ers since 2017. He’s had success with four playoff appearances in seven seasons. Shanahan has also been successful at developing future head coaches.
2024 started with three NFL head coaches who spent at least five seasons as assistants under Shanahan’s first 49ers staff in 2017. Robert Saleh’s firing from the Jets after Week 5 leaves Mike McDaniel with the Dolphins and DeMeco Ryans with the Texans.
Kyle Shanahan’s Assistants Turned Head Coaches
Shanahan’s father, Mike, was a head coach in the NFL for 20 seasons with the Los Angeles Raiders, Denver Broncos, and Washington. The elder Shanahan won over 300 games and back-to-back Super Bowls with the Broncos in 1997 and 1998. Kyle was one of eight of Mike’s assistants who went on to get full-time head coaching jobs.
Robert Saleh – Former New York Jets Head Coach
The first Kyle Shanahan assistant to leave to be a head coach was Robert Saleh, who was the 49ers’ defensive coordinator for Shanahan’s first four teams. The New York Jets hired Saleh as head coach after the 2020 season, with his tenure ending in 2024 after the Jets’ Week 5 loss to the Vikings in London.
Saleh went 20-36 in 3+ seasons as the Jets’ head coach, as the team has been looking for an answer at quarterback. Saleh lost quarterback Aaron Rodgers, who was acquired in the 2023 offseason and was injured in the first quarter of the first game. The Jets were 2-3 to start 2024 before Saleh’s firing.
Mike McDaniel – Miami Dolphins Head Coach
Mike McDaniel started his NFL coaching career as a Broncos intern for Mike Shanahan in 2005. McDaniel worked with Kyle Shanahan with the Houston Texans under head coach Gary Kubiak, who was an offensive coordinator in Denver.
Shanahan and McDaniel worked together as offensive assistants in Houston for three seasons, from 2006 to 2008. The two coaches were reunited when they joined Mike’s staff in Washington in 2011.
Kyle was the offensive coordinator, while McDaniel was an offensive assistant and wide receivers coach. McDaniel left Washington after three seasons.
After being hired as 49ers head coach, Shanahan hired McDaniel to be the team’s run game coordinator in 2017. McDaniel was promoted to offensive coordinator for the 2021 season, and the Miami Dolphins hired him to be head coach in 2022.
McDaniel entered 2024 with a 20-14 record with two playoff appearances in two seasons as the Dolphins head coach. His offense has brought out the best in quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, who made the Pro Bowl for the first time this season.
DeMeco Ryans – Houston Texans Head Coach
DeMeco Ryans was a Texans linebacker for four seasons when Shanahan was the team’s offensive coordinator. In 2017, Shanahan hired Ryans to work with the 49ers as a defensive quality control assistant.
He was promoted to coach the inside linebackers the next season. After Saleh left for the Jets, Ryans was promoted to defensive coordinator in 2021.
Ryans was hired as the Houston Texans’ head coach after the 2022 season. In his first season, he led the Texans to a 10-7 record and an AFC South title, as well as a 45-14 Wild Card win over the Cleveland Browns.