The 49ers are willing to wait for Kyle Shanahan, and one of his former quarterbacks thinks it’s a decision that will pay off handsomely for them.
Via Albert Breer of TheMMQB.com, veteran quarterback Brian Hoyer said working with Shanahan reminded him of his time in New England working under Bill Belichick.
Hoyer started 13 games for the Browns in 2014 with Shanahan as his offensive coordinator (going 7-6 as a starter), and spent his first three seasons with the Patriots.
“For me, you just know those two, when you see them in the building, they’re constantly thinking about football,” Hoyer said. “That’s the one thing I really admired about Kyle. You knew when he was there, he was putting the work in, that’s all he was focused on. He might walk by you in the hallway, and you’d say, ‘Hey what’s up, Kyle?’ and he’d keep walking.
“But that was because he’s working on third down or he’s worried about the red area. To me, his total commitment, his mind, he’s always thinking about it. That’s why I made the comparison. Bill was the same way. You’d see him in the hallway, ‘Hey Bill,’ and he’d just look up, and nod, and keep going. You knew he had so much he was thinking about.”
Hoyer also said the two share a perfectionist bent.
“There’s nothing fake about that, he wants everything be to perfect,” Hoyer said. “We’d be going over game plans and he’d be like, ‘I have it studied to a point where I pretty much know what they’ll call on third down. Just trust me, don’t worry about the percentages, I’ll take care of that. I just want you to execute the play.’”
Whether Shanahan can replicate the success he’s having on offense in Atlanta now, or Belichick’s sustained excellence, remains to be seen. But Hoyer’s also about to become a free agent, and buttering up a guy who will needed a quarterback or two can’t hurt.