San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan announced on Wednesday that C.J. Beathard would be his starting quarterback for the team’s Week 12 matchup with the Seattle Seahawks. Shanahan said that Jimmy Garoppolo is coming along in his understanding of the offense, but Beathard’s play coupled with Garoppolo’s learning curve helped with this decision.
At one point, a media member asked Shanahan why he announced the decision, rather than forcing Pete Carroll and the Seahawks to prepare for both quarterbacks. On a day in which we give thanks, Shanahan’s response emphasized what I am enjoying most at this point about the new 49ers regime.
“One, it would be exhausting to talk about this every day. And I don’t see it as a competitive advantage.”
If Jim Harbaugh were still in charge, I have no doubt he would not have announced the starting quarterback on Wednesday. And in a league in which coaches and executives act like they’re protecting the nuclear codes each week, quite a few coaches would pull the same nonsense.
Shanahan’s comments were just one more example of how he and John Lynch have brought some refreshing honest, forthrightness, and basic competence to the building. Under Trent Baalke, everything was top secret, and it was worse than pulling teeth to get any kind of information.
Lynch has media experience, and Shanahan has grown comfortable with the media after some reports of him being a bit prickly earlier in his coaching career. Whatever the case prior, these two men have brought something quite refreshing to 4949 Marie P. DeBartolo Way. There is a candor that has been lacking for some time.
The 49ers sit at 1-9, knee deep in a sizable rebuilding project. We have seen some development of players, but there are not a lot of big wins to point to thus far. It’s all about the bigger picture, and I can live with that. So, all things considered, the behavior of Shanahan and Lynch is a big win as far as I’m concerned.
And for that, this year at least, I can give thanks!