Suggestion that San Francisco 49ers HC Kyle Shanahan is on the Hot Seat 'Doesn't Make Any Sense' to TE George Kittle

Kyle Shanahan has been one of the NFL's brightest offensive minds for over a decade now. 

In his nine-year tenure with the San Francisco 49ers, Shanahan has led the franchise to two Super Bowl appearances while overachieving in years where his roster was decimated with injuries. 

Without George Kittle, Nick Bosa, Fred Warner, or Brandon Aiyuk last season, Shanahan and the Niners still managed to win a road playoff game before being dismantled by their NFC West rival and eventual champions, the Seattle Seahawks. 

While some in the media have suggested that Shanahan could be on the proverbial "hot seat" should a Super Bowl victory continue to elude San Francisco, the 46-year-old's star tight end finds that notion unintelligent. 

"Anybody that says Kyle Shanahan is on the hot seat, you guys are not the smartest," Kittle said, courtesy of USA Today. "It doesn't make any sense to me."

Shanahan, who's known as somewhat of a "quarterback whisperer," famously helped get Sam Darnold's confidence back en route to his career revival first with the Minnesota Vikings before becoming a Super Bowl champion in Seattle. 

But Shanahan also appears to be in the midst of a second revival project, that being former New England Patriots first-rounder Mac Jones, who stepped in admirably for an injured Brock Purdy in 2025. 

Jones helped keep the Niners' playoff hopes alive due to the growth he showed under Shanahan, which gained Kittle's respect to say the least. 

"When you have a quarterback that who could start on plenty of other teams, in my opinion, come in and win games the way that he won them," Kittle continued. "You really keep teams together in a tough situation by continuing to win games. That's what keeps guys together, that's what keeps the locker room healthy."

While Kittle is praising Jones for his play, Shanahan deserves plenty of credit for getting another castaway QB to succeed in his offense. 

In a similar sample size to his time with the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2024, Jones saw a 17-point increase to his quarterback rating with the Niners while nearly doubling his QBR. 

Sure, San Francisco has better weapons than Jacksonville did, but the difference in confidence and decision-making was obvious. 

And that's all thanks to Shanahan. 

There's zero reason to believe Shanahan will be on the hot seat any time soon, especially if San Francisco makes as much noise in 2026 as its roster has the ability to generate.