Did the 49ers offensive magic go to Miami with Mike McDaniel?
The San Francisco 49ers offense is off to a brutal start to the 2022 season, falling to 1-2 after only putting up 10 points against the Denver Broncos on Sunday. The team’s offensive production has taken a sharp downturn from last season despite returning their key playmakers, prompting questions about why this star-studded cast is struggling to put up points.
Through the 49ers first three games, San Francisco ranks 24th in the NFL in total yards and 28th in total passing yards. In 2021, the 49ers finished the season ranked seventh in total yards and 13th in passing yards. The biggest difference is that last season former offensive coordinator, now-Miami Dolphins Head Coach Mike McDaniel was designing plays and serving as Head Coach Kyle Shanahan’s lead adviser.
Was McDaniel the secret to the 49ers offensive success?
Former 49ers left tackle Joe Staley told Niners Nation’s Rob Guerrera in an interview last year that McDaniel doesn’t get enough credit for masterminding the 49ers plays.
Staley said of McDaniel: “He’s incredibly important. He’s the Wizard of Oz for the run game, and not just the run game, for the offense. His genius comes in the construction of a lot of the plays, utilizing different people’s skill sets in different situations. He will come up with some crazy concepts and he locks himself in his office.”
While McDaniel’s complex play design is hard to replicate, so is the level of trust he built with Shanahan.
The duo first coached together with the Houston Texas in 2006 where Shanahan was the wide receivers coach and McDaniel an offensive assistant. They spent the better part of the next two decades working together as Shanahan brought McDaniel on at his next four stops as a coordinator or head coach. When Shanahan was hired by the 49ers in 2017, he immediately dialed in his longtime associate as the run game coordinator before promoting McDaniel to offensive coordinator in 2021.
Shanahan told reporters before Week 1 that having McDaniel available to consult, make tapes on opponents and help him prepare for meetings each week was critical to the team’s success, and those responsibilities are now being delegated to younger coaches.
After relying on McDaniel for 18 years, there will surely be an adjustment period for Shanahan to create a workflow with his new coaches.
However, McDaniel appears to be adjusting just fine to his first head coaching gig. The Dolphins are off to a 3-0 start, putting up an impressive 27.7 points per game.
It's clear who's on the better end of this break up. While time may heal this wound, a couple of 49ers wins certainly would.
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