Is Jerry Rice the Next 49ers Head Coach?

Things are not looking great for the San Francisco 49ers, and they don’t look to be improving any time soon. Brock Purdy will be out against the Green Bay Packers, and could miss extended time with a shoulder injury. San Francisco will most likely fall to 5-6, and Kyle Shanahan will be on an even hotter seat.

Dating all the way back to last season, the issues were there, but were masked due to the efficiency of the team that took them to the Super Bowl. Yet, what remained was the inability to close out one-score games. Last year they went 1-3 in close games, this season they are 2-4. Out of 125 coaches as well, Kyle Shanahan ranks 118th with a .398 win percentage in games decided by seven or fewer points; that’s an evolving issue now under Shanahan and shows just how much he is getting out coached. With refusing to change his ways, it’s leading to the offense still relying too heavily on a strong run game to open up the pass game, and that’s led to them losing games they shouldn’t. More recently, players like Brandon Aiyuk, Trent Williams, and Deebo Samuel have shown to be disgruntled, and there were the reports at the start of the season signaling the organization wasn’t too happy with Shanahan. Pair all that with the team continuing to lose, and it may become clear the 49ers need to move on.

That is why his replacement will be 49ers legend, Jerry Rice.

Back in 2022, after Deion Sanders had started his rise as a college football head coach, Rice was asked about what he thought about coaching. Rice would go on to say, Not until Deion [Sanders], with Jackson State,” said Rice. “Because I felt like I played the game for such a long time. And I was so totally committed. And I just poured everything into my career, that I didn’t have anything left. Because, as a coach, you really don’t have a life. I mean, coaching. It is hard, man, it takes up the majority of your time. But yeah, it takes a total commitment. And you got to be all in. So, it started to cross my mind just a little bit, now.”

With Rice, the ideal scenario would be going back to the team where he spent 16 seasons on the 49ers, accumulating 19,247 yards and 187 touchdowns in that span. Not to mention he won three Super Bowls with the team, showcasing he knows what it takes to build a winning culture and have that translate to results. One thing for Rice that would make him the ideal replacement for Shanahan has to do with the characteristics he showed as a player. When on the field he showed an advanced understanding of the game, played with immense passion and dedication. Rice would bring that same level as a coach and be one players respect and want to play for.