While San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan hasn’t won the NFL Coach of the Year award yet, he’s certainly come close, finishing second multiple times after leading an injury-riddled team to a strong finish.

After the Niners’ 20-10 win over the Atlanta Falcons that grew their lead in the NFC West with a 5-2 record, it feels like this year’s award is his to lose, and the race isn’t close.

San Francisco has yet to play one game with their all of their offensive starters on the field. They’ve had starting quarterback Brock Purdy for two games this season. Tight end George Kittle just returned to action on Sunday after being out on IR since Week 1. In his absence, the team has discovered a burgeoning Jake Tonges.

The team’s wide receiver room has been without what feels like a constant rotation of Jauan Jennings and now Ricky Pearsall. In consecutive weeks, the team lost defensive stars Nick Bosa and Fred Warner for the season. Those are just a sample size of the injuries that have decimated the 49ers through seven weeks.

Curtis Robinson saw his first snaps at linebacker briefly against the Falcons while Warner’s replacement, Tatum Bethune, was shaken up and briefly went out. And yet they just kept marching on forward. That type of mentality comes from the top down.

There is plenty of motivation that comes from the players, and they’re the ones on the field that have to pull it together and win games. The presence of Fred Warner in team meetings leading up to the game and in Levi’s Stadium makes an undeniable impact.

But a team’s culture and mentality start and end with its head coach.

After Warner went down, the vibes around San Francisco’s season turned from in-season trades to remain top contenders for the Super Bowl to trying to salvage a promising year that suddenly felt lost. One that continues to be without its starting quarterback.

Mac Jones, Kendrick Bourne, and Christian McCaffrey have simply just kept going on offense, Robert Saleh has put on a masterclass of coaching next man up on defense, and Eddy Pineiro is making a case for the NFL to give out an annual kicker award.

It’s not just that a trio of surprising stars, given McCaffrey’s previous durability issues, has continued to find ways to score. Shanahan has revived Jones’ and Bourne’s careers, and McCaffrey is on his way to an Offensive Player of the Year campaign with his performance on the ground and as a pass catcher.

None of this would be going on if the team felt like they had nothing to play for. Shanahan has kept their heads in this season. They’re already halfway to 10 wins. Most importantly, it was clear in Sunday’s win that the Niners’, starters and backups, believe in themselves.

Should San Francisco make a postseason push, this is the year that an overdue Coach of the Year award is Shanahan’s.