49ers FB Kyle Juszczyk Details What Makes Kyle Shanahan Elite
It's undeniable that Kyle Shanahan is one of the best NFL head coaches. That's been the case for the last several years.
And it's only been amplified after the miraculous 12-win season he led the 49ers to last year. Shanahan is terrific. Albeit he's got some flaws. He's still an incredible coach, nonetheless.
Yet there are some unknown details about his coaching style that help him be successful. Thankfully, Kyle Juszczyk shared some details about that while appearing on The Rich Eisen Show.
A fascinating detail about Kyle Shanahan
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- Rich Eisen Show (@RichEisenShow) May 22, 2026
What makes Kyle Shanahan and Brock Purdy such a successful HC/QB duo? The @49ers All-Pro fullback weighs in:#NFL#FTTBpic.twitter.com/PxTrOPlw2c
"I never leave a conversation with Kyle without having learned something or just being impressed with how his brain works and how he looks at things," said Juszczyk. "He'll go through, and he'll tell you every single assignment of the defense. And he'll use their assignment against them for how we can exploit them and be successful on offense.
"I think that's the difference between him and some of the play callers in this league. He understands the defense just as good, if not better than most defensive coordinators, and I think that's how you really take it to that elite level play calling that I think he's at."
This is why Shanahan is known to scheme up players open. His knowledge of what the defense wants to do is what allows him to concoct the best play to attack with.
Shanahan is essentially a student taking a test with a blatant cheat sheet. Now, defenses will try to mask what they're doing pre-snap to confuse Brock Purdy.
However, Shanahan has accounted for. This is where Juszczyk comes in. He's utilized as the motion man the majority of the time before the play.
That is so Shanahan's play can pull back the masked defensive play. It's also to trick the defense into believing they see one play, but it turns out it's something entirely different.
Shanahan is a madman with that. It's why more often than not, the reason his plays aren't effective is that the players are failing to execute.
The run game last year is a perfect example of that. It's not so much what Shanahan called. Several players weren't blocking up to par for what the run play demanded.
I'm sure that irritated Shanahan throughout the year. The 49ers ended up having their most inefficient season running the ball.
That's going to motivate him to find ways to get the ground game going again. And surely, Juszczyk will be a key part of it again.
There's no better coach and play caller the 49ers can have right now than Shanahan. This is a reminder that any mention of him on the hot seat is completely delusional.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com/nfl/49ers/onsi as 49ers FB Kyle Juszczyk Details What Makes Kyle Shanahan Elite.
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This story was originally published May 25, 2026 at 4:00 PM.