Chatter that the 49ers could part with coach Kyle Shanahan — or even trade him — have always seemed far-fetched. Niners GM John Lynch laughed off the notion in a radio interview Friday with KNBR in San Francisco.
“I sit back, and I try to be focused, but I’ve found the whole discussion on Kyle and some of the stuff rather comical,” he said. “We have won four of the last five division championships. We’ve been in two Super Bowls.
“Look, the standard here is to win championships, and we’ve fallen short of that. I understand. But we have an excellent head coach. And the fact people are talking about stuff like that, I do find it comical.”
After firing Matt Eberflus, the Bears are one of three teams with vacancies in the NFL. Some have suggested they try to trade for Shanahan, who praised quarterback Caleb Williams this week. Deals for NFL coaches don’t happen often; the most prominent was in 2002, when the Raiders dealt Jon Gruden to the Buccaneers.
The 49ers, who play the Bears on Sunday, are 5-7 this season amid an avalanche of injuries. Shanahan won at least 10 games in four of the previous five seasons before this year and is 69-58 all-time with the 49ers.