49ers coach Kyle Shanahan has acknowledged he’s learned plenty of things about football since his days with the Falcons, when his team blew a 28-3 lead in the Super Bowl against the Patriots.
But he also learned something about the character of Patriots coach Bill Belichick.
Via Scott Bair of NBCSportsBayArea.com, Shanahan said Monday night that Belichick called him after that game.
“It was really cool that he reached out to me after the Super Bowl just to talk,” Shanahan said. “I was able to spend some time with him at the [2017] NFL Combine, which I was very appreciative of.
“Any time that guy talks, everyone in the world listens. That was especially true for someone like me who aspired to be a head coach. He has been great. It’s not like we talk a ton or anything, but he’s a humble guy who likes to help people.”
For Shanahan, it was also a bit of a flashback, although he was glad to be able to participate in the conversation.
Belichick met with Shanahan’s father Mike after the Broncos beat his team in the 2005 playoffs, and Kyle was hanging around his dad’s office at the time.
“I got kicked out of the room, and I had to sit and wait,” Shanahan said. “I remember my dad saying how cool that was for him to come over after the game, after the Patriots had lost, just to talk ball with him.”
The relationship rekindled when the Patriots traded quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo to the 49ers, and it’s generally acknowledged that the Patriots didn’t hold out for the highest bidder, with Belichick sending his backup to a place he thought he could prosper.
“Having someone like Bill say something like that, for me and what I do in life, if pretty cool,” Shanahan said. “That’s a big a compliment as I could personally have. It feels great. Hopefully that’s true because I’m very glad he felt that way, and I feel very fortunate that we were able to get Jimmy.”
That kind of respect within the coaching fraternity is rare for someone so young, but also indicative of the job Shanahan has done turning the 49ers around so quickly.