It’s hard to believe just over a year ago, Kyle Shanahan was telling fans to be patient.
That, of course, was said in 2017 B.G. (Before Garoppolo) Once Jimmy Garoppolo came to took over as the starter, patience went out the window. Sure the 49ers were developing, but not in a Cleveland Browns, three win season, kind of development.
Which is why it’s hard for everyone to realize this is still a rebuild. It’s still a two-three year rebuild, even with Garoppolo under center. It’s just now a two-three rebuild with the season from hell. The 49ers want a win, need a win. The aforementioned Browns have more wins than they do.
Of course that could mean they could do something drastic for 2018, even though this is part of a much larger picture. Kyle Shanahan was asked about if the 1-6 start was impacting the long-term goals of this team and mentioned doing something drastic (like a trade) isn’t in the cards:
It’s tough to deal with, it’s frustrating. We’re all working extremely hard and want much better results. But, just because the record doesn’t show that isn’t going to make you doubt yourself and go rip up your plans and do something totally new. We knew when we came here it was going to take some time and we want that to be as fast as possible, there’s no doubt about that. But, you also don’t want to make stupid decisions because of that. We’re trying to be smart in everything we do. We’re not trying to just do this a quick, easy fix way. We’re trying to build this thing to last and to do that, it does take some time. Planned on it going faster and it hasn’t so far. But, that doesn’t make me lose any confidence in what we’re doing, the people that we have here. I know we need to continue to work, continue to get better, but we’re going through a tough time right now. But, that doesn’t change anything to me where I feel we’re going
The NFL trade deadline has already had some craziness going on with Oakland Raiders wide receiver Amari Cooper getting dealt to the Dallas Cowboys. Last year around this time, the 49ers sent a second round pick to the New England Patriots for quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo. When the trade was completed, Shanahan was quick to say Garoppolo was for the future, not for the 2017 season.
If this losing season stunts the growth, we’ll know in a year or two, but it seems like Shanahan is still looking at the bigger picture. Even if this losses may make him feel pressured to do something drastic.
If the future is in mind, then maybe things are going according to plan. But maybe getting another splashy trade for the future wouldn’t hurt.