Much to the disappointment of the Niner Faithful, Baltimore Ravens head coach John Harbaugh has been named the NFL's AP Coach of the Year over San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan, who finished second in the voting.
AP Coach of the Year: John Harbaugh, Ravens.
— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) February 1, 2020
Harbaugh led his Ravens to the NFL's best regular-season record of 14-2. The improvement over the previous year is not as dramatic as the one by the Bay Area team. Baltimore was 10-6 in 2018 and won the AFC North.
Shanahan led an impressive turnaround from a four-win season last year to a 2019 squad that earned 13 regular-season wins, the team's first playoff appearance in six years, and a trip to Super Bowl LIV.
John Harbaugh was runaway choice for NFL Coach of the Year.
Here's the voting:
— Jamison Hensley (@jamisonhensley) February 1, 2020
John Harbaugh: 27 votes
Kyle Shanahan: 14
Matt LaFleur: 3
Mike Tomlin: 2
Sean McDermott: 2
Sean Payton: 1
Shanahan won just 10 games in his first two seasons as a head coach. Now, he has his 49ers competing for the franchise's sixth Vince Lombardi Trophy.
The Ravens were eliminated from the playoffs in their first game — a Divisional Round matchup against the Tennessee Titans.
"Kyle should get it," Harbaugh said while entering the NFL Honors award show on Saturday. "He deserves it. He's in the Super Bowl. He's done an amazing job there. He's a great coach. "I've known him a long time interviewed him a few years back."
#Ravens John Harbaugh, on way into #NFLHonors, said #49ers Kyle Shanahan deserves AP Coach of the Year:
— Cam Inman (@CamInman) February 1, 2020
"Kyle should get it. He deserves it. He's in the Super Bowl. He's done an amazing job there. He's a great coach.
"I've known him a long time interviewed him few years back"
Shanahan owns an all-time coaching record of 25-25, including the two playoffs victories, which ranks fourth all-time by a 49ers head coach in his first three seasons with the team. Only George Seifert (42), Jim Harbaugh (41), and Steve Mariucci (31) had more.
This week, the 49ers coach reflected on his first win with the team back in 2017. The team was 0-9 headed into that November 12, 2017, matchup against the New York Giants, but celebrated as if it had just won the Super Bowl.
"We were pumped," Shanahan said. "Our players, we were fighting every week, all of our guys. It wasn't just me. It was everybody. We had a lot of guys, it was their first year in the league; a lot of guys who hadn't played much, and we put a lot into every week, and we came up short a ton. We won that game, and it felt huge."
Now, the 49ers are actually in the Super Bowl.
Shanahan and his father, Mike, become in the first father-son duo to reach the Super Bowl as head coaches. Mike Shanahan led the Denver Broncos to the Super Bowl in 1997 and 1998.