Albert Breer of TheMMQB spoke with Chicago Bears quarterback Brian Hoyer this week, who crossed paths with Atlanta Falcons offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan in 2014 while with the Cleveland Browns. Hoyer started 13 games while Shanahan was the offensive coordinator for a season in Cleveland.
Shanahan will become the next head coach of the San Francisco 49ers and Hoyer, who is scheduled to become a free agent, believes that the coordinator is just the guy to turn things around for the franchise. In fact, Hoyer compared Shanahan to the head coach that he had after he entered the league – Bill Belichick of the New England Patriots. He said that both always have football on their minds.
"For me, you just know those two, when you see them in the building, they're constantly thinking about football," Hoyer said via Breer. "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 went on to say that both Shanahan and Belichick are perfectionists and relentless when it comes to putting a game plan together. They try to simplify the plan for each player so that the focus can be on playing fast and not have to worry about the situation.
Hoyer also said that Shanahan's offense requires a "big-time, playmaking 'X'" receiver, someone who is "really, really fast," and pass-catching running backs. Shanahan has all of those in Atlanta and will likely try to bring those aspects of his offense to San Francisco.
In addition to that, Shanahan puts the task of protection calls on the center and not the quarterback. That's why Shanahan wanted his former center in Cleveland, Alex Mack, to join him in Atlanta. The move has worked for both Mack and Shanahan.
Hoyer believes that the 49ers have a real chance to do some special things now. "It's in his DNA, it's what consumes him," Hoyer said of Shanahan. "He's proven that, as far as being an offensive coordinator, he can produce a lot of great things. That experience, how long has he been in the league? He's coached in the league since he was 24, 25. So he's got a lot of coaching experience. Like players learn so much from playing in a game, it's probably the same. Then, you become a head coach."
You can read the entire article on TheMMQB with the portion about Shanahan being in the "Extra Point" section.
