San Francisco 49ers Offseason Preview

This is the latest in an ongoing series of offseason preview articles.

2025 Season in a Nutshell

Injuries. Training camp injuries. Early-season injuries. Late-season injuries. Lingering injuries. Catastrophic injuries. Quarterback injuries. Injuries to perennial All Pros. Injuries to the backups. Injuries to the free agents signed off the street to replace the backups who got injured. Tinfoil-hat conspiracies about injuries.

And, despite it all, a six-game winning streak down the stretch, plus a playoff victory, even though the late-season defensive lineup looked like it belonged on the field on the third quarter of the first preseason game.

Coaching Situation

Kyle Shanahan report card:

• Game planning: A+
• Getting backups ready to play: A+
• Keeping big-name veterans who aren’t Brandon Aiyuk-level batshit with the program: A+
• Making the right decision in a high-leverage do-or-die situation with the season and his reputation on the line: No comment.

Shanahan loses one defensive coordinator per year to a head coaching gig. It’s been going on for so long that Robert Saleh has come and gone twice. Newcomer Raheem Morris should stick around a while; he’s already been the head coach of the Bucs and Falcons, and even the NFC South has its limits when it comes to coaching retreads.

Offensive coordinator Klay Kubiak plans to switch places with his brother to see if anyone in Las Vegas notices.

Quarterback Situation

Here’s a handy primer for making sense of Brock Purdy takes: