Recently I came across a poll on Twitter which asked who is or was the better coach for the San Francisco 49ers? The options were Kyle Shanahan or Jim Harbaugh.
With 90 total votes cast so far, Shanahan is running away at 73.3 percent.
The poll creator responded with a tweet that says “I think if you put the best Shanahan Niners team up against the best Harbaugh Niners team, the Shanahan team blows them out of the water, and it’s not even close.”
Both Shanahan and Harbaugh got their teams to the Super Bowl. One team blew a lead, the other was a play away from one of the more impressive comebacks in NFL history. So here is a look at the 2012 and 2019 49ers teams.
At quarterback in 2012 was Alex Smith and Colin Kaepernick, who combined to throw for 3,551 yards, 23 touchdowns to eight interceptions. The 2019 team had Jimmy Garoppolo who threw for 3,978 yards, 27 touchdowns and 13 interceptions.
One thing that Harbaugh preached was taking care of the football, Shanahan has shown in his tenure that turnovers are not that big of a concern. While Garoppolo threw for four more touchdowns, he also threw five more interceptions negating the edge when it came to passing yards.
QB: Smith/Kaepernick
At running back Frank Gore ran for 1,214 yards on 258 carries, averaged 4.7 yards per carry with eight rushing touchdowns, he also caught 28 passes for 234 yards and a touchdown. His backup Kendall Hunter ran for 371 yards on 72 carries and had two rushing touchdowns, he caught nine pass for 60 yards. Kaepernick made defenses play honest with his ability to run with the football and he ran for 415 yards on 63 carries, with five rushing touchdowns and averaged 6.6 yards per carry.
Total yardage between the three was 2,000, averaged 5.1 yards per carry, and 15 touchdowns
Shanahan’s top three rushers in 2019 were Tevin Coleman, Raheem Mostert, and Matt Breida.
Though Mostert did not start the season in the running back rotation, he finished leading the team with 772 yards on 137 carries and averaged 5.6 yards per carry to go along with eight rushing touchdowns, Coleman started 11 games yet averaged only 4 yards per carry on 137 carries, he ran for 544 yards and six touchdowns, and Breida started the other five games finishing with 623 yards and a touchdown on 123 carries, while averaging 5.1 yards per carry.
Total yardage between the three was 1,939 yards, averaged 4.9 yards per carry, and finished the season with 15 rushing touchdowns.
As for the wide receivers Michael Crabtree surpassed the totals of Deebo Samuel with ease. 85 receptions compared to 57, yardage 1,105 to 802, touchdowns 9 to 3. Emmanuel Sanders had the slight edge over Mario Manningham.
For the 2019 team, Kendrick Bourne was the third leading receiver with 358 yards, while the 2012 team had Randy Moss with 434 yards. In another one that was close, Harbaugh again edges out Shanahan.
George Kittle led the 2019 team in receptions with 85 and yards with 1,053, he also had 5 receiving touchdowns. Vernon Davis was the second leading receiver for the 2012 team with 548 yards on 41 catches and he also ended up with 5 touchdown receptions. Both are incredible blocking tight ends.
While Shanahan gets the win here on tight end no.1, depth though is a different story as Delanie Walker caught 21 passes for 334 yards and three touchdowns and Garrett Celek was primarily used in blocking situations. Meanwhile, the 2019 team had Ross Dwelley who caught 15 passes for 91 yards and Levine Toilolo who caught 2 passes for 10 yards.
Overall even with Kittle, Harbaugh’s 2012 team has the edge due to the team’s depth.
At fullback, this is the easiest one. Kyle Juszczyk definitely better than Bruce Miller. Shanahan finally gets a win.
When it comes to the offensive line, the easiest win here is at left tackle with Joe Staley over Justin Skule. Mike Iupati a much better left guard than Laken Tomlinson, when it comes to the center position Weston Richburg over Jonathan Goodwin, at right guard Mike Person versus Alex Boone is a tie, and Anthony Davis significantly better than Mike McGlinchey at right tackle.
Now the fun begins, which means comparing the two defenses.
For the 2019 49ers team the defense forced 12 interceptions with once defensive back with double digits of passes defensed with 11 and that was Richard Sherman. The 2012 defense recorded 14 interceptions and had three defensive backs with double digits in passes defended. Tarell Brown recorded 13 with Dashon Goldson and Chris Culliver recording 12.
When it came to tackles for loss both teams had two players with double digits, Nick Bosa led the way in 2019 with 16 and Arik Armstead added 11. Aldon Smith led the way with 18 in 2012 and Ahmad Brooks recorded 12.
At linebacker there really is not much of a comparison between the two teams. One had Patrick Willis and NaVorro Bowman, the other Fred Warner and Dre Greenlaw.
When it comes to total tackles, Willis and Bowman combined for 268 tackles with 11 tackles for loss, Warner and Greenlaw combined for 210 tackles and 10 tackles for loss.
On the defensive line, both teams only had one player record double digits in sacks. Armstead finished the season with 10 in 2019, Aldon Smith recorded 19.5 in 2012. Here though Shanahan has better depth as Bosa finished with nine sacks, Deforest Buckner 7.5, and Dee Ford 6.5.
Brooks finished with 6.5 sacks in 2012 and Justin Smith finished the season with 3 sacks.
As mentioned previously the 2012 team made more plays in the secondary when it came to passes defensed.
It is also the reason why the defensive backs from that 2012 team had more depth and combined for 9 interceptions, compared to the 2019 team which only got 7 interceptions from the secondary.
On special teams the easiest pick between punters here is Andy Lee over Mitch Wishnowsky. David Akers ekes out Robbie Gould, his long for the season was nine yards longer, he made all his extra points, and he had a much better touchback percentage.
Return man was Ted Ginn Jr for Harbaugh and Shanahan really did not have someone he trusted to return punts or kicks. Overall though between the two Super Bowl teams, Harbaugh’s teams win at every significant position except for one.
Yet still one can argue that the 2019 49ers team is not the best of Shanahan’s tenure, the 2022 team was.
That then means creating the best roster using players from different years to create an ultimate roster for both coaches. In this scenario, it is interesting to see if there are any changes.
Quarterback: Smith/Kaepernick vs Garoppolo/Brock Purdy
Winner: Smith/Kaepernick
Running back: Gore, Hunter, Kaepernick vs Christian McCaffrey, Mostert, and Jeff Wilson Jr.
Now McCaffrey came in became an immediate boost offensively for the 49ers in 2022. He finished the season with 746 yards and six touchdowns rushing while averaging 4.7 yards per carry and he also caught 52 passes for 464 yards and four touchdowns.
The 1,210 total yards with 10 touchdowns by McCaffrey still is not better than Gore’s 2012 season in which he had 1,448 total yards. So once again advantage Harbaugh.
Wide receivers now become Crabtree, Anquan Boldin, and Mario Manningham versus Samuel, Brandon Aiyuk, and Marquise Goodwin. The edge now goes to Shanahan at the position.
After the 2012 season Davis set a career-high in 2014 with 850 yards and 13 touchdowns. Kittle, has surpassed the 1,300 yard mark in back-to-back seasons for Shanahan and the 49ers yet in both those years he only found the end zone five times. In 2022 he finally eclipsed the double figure mark with 11, and was utilized more once Purdy became starter.
Kittle still edges out Davis yet Harbaugh and his depth still wins here over Shanahan.
On the offensive line, the only real change here is at left tackle with Trent Williams over Staley. Nothing else changes here.
Shanahan’s defensive line still has more depth than that of any Harbaugh team. Though once could argue the 2012 season of Aldon Smith had a better season than Bosa’s 2022.
Linebackers once again Willis and Bowman over Warner and Greenlaw.
Harbaugh’s secondary made plays, with Shanahan it has always been a bit concerning. 2023 is also going to look different as Jimmie Ward is no longer with the team and he was an unquestioned leader of that defense in 2022.
Even though Gould spent more seasons in a 49ers uniform, Akers still is ahead of him based on touch back percentage alone. Lee is a 49ers all-time great punter, Wishnowsky a disappointment after being drafted in the fourth round in 2019.
Lastly when it comes to return man, not many better than Ginn Jr. So far in Shanahan’s tenure he really has not found a consistent one.
Now when it comes the roster construction when both coaches got hired, Harbaugh inherited a team with great talent that struggled to win. One of the first things he did when he became head coach of the 49ers was to say that he can win with Alex Smith as his quarterback.
That was not something 49er fans wanted to hear.
Most fans were done with the former no.1 overall pick. So what did Harbaugh do? He won 13 games in his first season as head coach, with Smith having a career year.
Now Shanahan did not have the luxury of a roster with much talent when he took the position. Yet some of his moves were suspect such as not even considering Kaepernick when there was no quarterback on the roster.
Instead, he went with Brian Hoyer. That was a brutal decision, and his hand selected quarterback did not last one season with the 49ers.
Still there were more questionable decision that Shanahan made when it comes to his quarterback. Rumors have always swirled around Kirk Cousins who he previously coached for the Washington Commanders.
Fortunately San Francisco did not make a deal for him. Instead, Garoppolo was acquired from the New England Patriots. Yet even though he won games as the starter he struggled to remain healthy and if he was out, the 49ers did not win games.
Part of that was the questionable decision by general manager to trade up to draft C.J. Beathard who is no longer on the roster. Nick Mullens put up big numbers yet made countless mistakes and is no longer on the roster as well.
In 2021 the 49ers drafted Trey Lance no.3 overall. He was named the starting quarterback for the 2022 season, Garoppolo who was reportedly no longer part of the future wound up re-signing anyways.
He did not even have a playbook. By week two, after Lance fractured his fibula, Garoppolo was once again the starter.
Once he got settled in he played his most impressive football for the 49ers. Also, he was not turning the football over as much. Still he wound up injured and missing the remainder of the season.
Purdy who was the last pick of the 2022 NFL Draft, played extremely well and got the 49ers to the NFC Championship Game in Philadelphia. He too got injured and would need Tommy John surgery.
So now Shanahan is back at square one in year seven. At least this time there is a bit more depth as Sam Darnold was acquired from the Carolina Panthers. Which is where Harbaugh also has an edge, his teams were healthier.
While that poll does show Shanahan as the better head coach, there is no question that Harbaugh is ahead of him when it comes to being better.