49ers news: Why Kyle Shanahan gave up his play-calling duties this preseason

San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan made a slightly surprising change this offseason, handing play-calling duties to offensive pass game specialist Klay Kubiak for the preseason.

Shanahan, known for his superb offensive mind and play-calling prowess, has been San Francisco’s play-caller since being hired as the head coach back in 2017. While it was just the preseason, it was still a difference from how the team had done things in the past, leading to questions.

The head coach even called the feeling “weird” him while sharing that the situation isn’t as fun as his responsibilities usually are.

“It was a little weird,” Shanahan acknowledged about giving up the playcalling to Kubiak on KNBR 680 back in August. “I was excited about it because Klay’s done a hell of a job, and I wanted him to be able to do it.”

“[Without having to play-call], I was much more personable to people. I actually could carry conversations with people who came up to me. I could talk to the referees a lot more when they came over. Even though you’re not really talking about anything, you’re not trying to carry 1,000 thoughts in your head while pretending to be social to somebody. So that was kind of nice. But it definitely isn’t quite as fun. You’re just sitting there, and you don’t want to sit there and talk about plays all the time because a guy wants to get in the rhythm, and it’s not just about what play-call you make. It’s how you kind of set up the whole game, and it’s always different in preseason too to where I told Klay before it.”

However, earlier this week, following the 49ers’ season opener, another reason may have been revealed why Shanahan made the decision.

Talking about defensive coordinator Nick Sorensen’s debut as a play-caller, Shanahan revealed that he was on the defensive side with the headsets throughout the preseason, listening in on the communication there.

“I thought it was great,” Shanahan said of Sorensen’s debut after the game. “I’ve been on that side of the headsets throughout the preseason, I am a lot during the games, just listening to communication with those guys. Nick’s done a great job, with all the position coaches and everyone there. They have a real understanding of what we’re trying to do, and they communicate well. I’ve been very happy with that side of the ball.”

Sorensen was asked directly about the situation ahead of San Francisco’s Week 2 game but didn’t give a full answer on Shanahan’s decision to give up the play-calling duties in the preseason.

“Kyle’s been great with me this whole time, and like I’ve said before, it’s been really fun in this position to be able to talk a lot with the offensive guys, too. And when doing scripts and you’re scripting with the offense during training camp, you have to be more connected with them,” Sorensen acknowledged. “So, I was really talking a lot with Kub (Klay Kubiak) and some with [senior offensive assistant Mick] Lombardi and Kyle. But regardless, I think that communication was there.

“Why [Shanahan] did what he did [in giving up play-calling duties], I don’t know. You could ask him. But I think a lot of it was, Kub’s done a great job too. I’ve enjoyed learning a lot, just being more connected, like I said, with Kub and with Kyle. He’s always trying to teach you and challenge you. That’s what’s been really awesome, just being here period like as a Niner the last three years, not just in the last six months.”

Sorensen continued further, noting that he and Shanahan don’t really have much communication during games and that even carries at times during the week, given the busy schedules for the duo.

“Oh, in-game, [do we have communication]? No, he’s busy in game,” Sorensen said about Shanahan. “Yeah, that’s totally different. Even now he is really busy. It’s just when we can catch moments to talk about stuff, we try to.”

Back in the preseason, though, the defensive coordinator said that they had communicated “a little bit”, but it wasn’t anything necessarily substantial.

Still, after last year’s issues with defensive coordinator Steve Wilks, it makes sense that Shanahan would take a more hands-on approach ahead of the season with the defense to ensure things were running smoothly.

But, Sorensen had a strong debut for the 49ers, as the team shut down both the pass and the run against the New York Jets, leading to a comfortable Week 1 victory. As the season goes along and the defensive coordinator involves more of his bag, we’ll get a better understanding of how Sorensen is as a play-caller, but it was a good start to the year.