Kyle Shanahan has a reputation as a genius offensive guru. The problem is his results with the San Francisco 49ers: he’s 31-39 overall in his fifth year, and now the Niners have to go to the equally struggling Chicago Bears.

Munich – In crises, everything is often and gladly questioned. The tactics, the squad, decisions, the coaches. The scrutiny is far-reaching.

At the San Francisco 49ers, it also affects Kyle Shanahan to some extent.

It’s often about little things, about observations. For example, how does the coach deal with setbacks, with criticism, with tough questions. What kind of demeanour does he have, what solutions, how much energy?

In short: how battered is he? Because this can provide information about deeper problems, about crises in the crisis, about whether the coach is possibly about to lose the cabin. This is usually the final nail in the coffin of the essential relationship between coach and team.

San Francisco 49ers: visiting Chicago Bears

Around the 49ers, some observers are noting changes ahead of the landmark game at the equally struggling Chicago Bears.

David Lombardi of The Athletic, for example, wrote this week that he didn’t recognise Shanahan.

“We’re not in the booth. But I can say that Shanahan’s energy in the press conference is at an all-time low – he seems like a different person than the fast-talking, informative coach we used to see,” Lombardi opined on Twitter. “I have to work hard to understand him. And when we’re talking about a team-wide problem on the field, that’s remarkable.”

For “ESPN” analyst Dan Orlovsky, Shanahan’s chair is no longer just warm, it’s starting to get hot, even though his contract runs through 2025.

But the record is not convincing. Shanahan is 2-4 in his fifth year at San Francisco, 31-39 overall, and excluding the 2019 Super Bowl run, looks even worse at 18-36. In a ranking of coaches with at least 50 games under their belt, he ranks 128th in Winning Percentage.

How does it fit that a coach who is considered an offensive genius and a smart play designer, and who likes to be showered with praise, is basically not delivering the results he hoped for? Is the 41-year-old possibly just one of the over-celebrated and overrated offensive coordinators who is still lacking something to become a head coach?

San Francisco: Problem is, of all things, the offense

One problem this season is – yes, of all things – the offense, which lacks consistency and big plays. It ranks 25th in scoring and 27th in total yards. That also has to do with quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, whom critics have said for years is just a game manager.

He’s feeding the critics more arguments in 2021, plus mistakes that, combined with little courage, are deadly to the offense.

The fact that Shanahan has had to switch back and forth this season between the oft-injured Garoppolo and rookie Trey Lance, who is logically not quite ready for action, is affecting the rhythm on the court. When Lance had to step in, however, it didn’t seem as if the coach had a suitable plan for his inexperienced rookie. Injury problems have been with the coach for a while anyway.

Kyle Shanahan must find solutions

But of course it’s primarily his job to find other solutions. It makes great coaches when they can make a virtue of necessity, react flexibly and not stubbornly stick to one way. It’s part of the business that patience is wearing thin in the environment, as is understanding for problems. Shanahan is not yet considered a hot candidate for dismissal around the NFL, but as we know, the mood can turn quickly. And the situation can become a kind of negative home run, depending on how things progress. The Bears game is definitely a sign of things to come.

Verbally, Shanahan is trying phrases at the moment. “We’re 2-4 here and there’s a lot of games left. And I know there’s a lot of things we could talk about, and I have to do that in the press conferences, but when the press conferences are over, I only have one focus, and that’s to find a way to play as well as we can against Chicago so we’re at 3-4 at the end of this week,” he said.

He should find the right answers on the court. As soon as possible.

Because the fact is: In a results sport, where billions are at stake, it’s the bare results that count in the end. That’s why everything is questioned in crises. With Shanahan, they have already started to do so.