Though the San Francisco 49ers technically have one more game left to play in the 2024 NFL season, fans have already started to pack it in, imagining which players the team should target in the draft, where free agents fall on the hierarchy of need, and if there should be any major changes to the coaching staff.
One person who is similarly excited about the offseason? Well, that would be Kyle Shanahan, who, after one of the hardest seasons of his career, is ready to check things out from a more macro view, away from the trenches he typically has to operate within.
Asked about recent comments from GM John Lynch regarding his offseason plans during his final media session of the 2024 NFL regular season, Shanahan confirmed that, yes, he wants to really take some time to see what worked, what didn't, and where the team can go from here.
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“Yeah, I am. I’d be much more excited to not have one and to go all the way to February again, but that is tough. When you go that that long, everyone needs to get away and by the time you come back there’s usually right when free agency’s starting and you’re not totally quite there yet. So, it’s going to be our first time since I think COVID being off in January,” Shanahan told reporters.
“And it gives you more time to figure things out. It gives you time to go through the things like the cutups and stuff. You can finish most of that stuff all before the Super Bowl. And then you’re ready to go to other stuff like the Draft and free agency and all that as soon as the Super Bowl ends. So just being a lot more ahead of that is real exciting and I’m ready to get to it. We’ve known we’re out of the playoffs here for a little bit and everything’s about finishing this year up the right way and not cutting anything short, finishing your job. But I also have been able to look to when I can start improving next year and making sure we’re not in this position again. And I know that starts Monday.”
What is the 49ers' biggest problem moving forward? Do they simply need to get healthy? Or did 2024 show some areas of concern that need to be addressed if the team ever hopes to return to the Super Bowl again, from misfitting players, to aging vets and beyond? While more optimistic fans may suggest the former, it's really starting to seem like the latter has to be addressed in a major way, too, as a bounce-back year in 2025 may prove to be more of a lucky break than a sign that everything is magically fixed. If the 49ers are going to become long-term contender moving forward, they might have to retool like their division rivals in LA in 2023 and 2024.
