[New post] Kyle Shanahan gets another look at Vikings’ Cousins, with Purdy firmly entrenched
gqlshare posted: "SANTA CLARA — When the 49ers visit the Minnesota Vikings on Monday Night Football, there will be a familiar face at quarterback.He'll calmly go through his progressions, likely complete a high percentage of his passes and run his offense with " Daily Democrat
SANTA CLARA — When the 49ers visit the Minnesota Vikings on Monday Night Football, there will be a familiar face at quarterback.
He'll calmly go through his progressions, likely complete a high percentage of his passes and run his offense with precision and poise.
Well, two familiar faces actually. Because the 49ers' Brock Purdy and Minnesota's Kirk Cousins were both initially schooled in how to play quarterback in the NFL by Kyle Shanahan.
One of the worst-kept secrets in the NFL is that Shanahan carried a torch for Cousins since their days together in Washington. Shanahan was the offensive coordinator for his father Mike Shanahan, and Cousins was a fourth-round draft pick out of Michigan State overshadowed by Robert Griffin III, the No. 2 pick in the draft behind Andrew Luck.
Kyle joined his father's staff in 2010, with Donovan McNabb starting over Rex Grossman the first year and Grossman starting over John Beck in 2011 with Washington going 11-21 over the two seasons.
During draft preparations, Kyle Shanahan made no secret of his thoughts about Cousins, whom he hoped his father would draft in the second round. Mike Shanahan, his son recalled, wanted two quarterbacks and was thinking about Texas A&M's Ryan Tannehill with the No. 6 overall pick and Wisconsin's Russell Wilson in the fourth round.
However, Washington traded three first-round picks and a second-rounder to the then-St. Louis Rams to move up to No. 2 and take Griffin, the Heisman Trophy winner from Baylor.
At that point, Kyle Shanahan had moved on until his father came to his room the night before Rounds 4 through 7 were to begin. Mike still wanted two quarterbacks and Wilson was gone, with Seattle taking him in the third round.
"Do you still want your guy Kirk?" Kyle recalled his father saying. "So we ended up taking Kirk, which I was pumped about because I wanted him originally."
Thus a mutual admiration relationship was born, even if Cousins only started four times with Kyle calling plays in Washington.
"He was a big reason I was drafted there and I was fortunate to get to play for him for two years," Cousins told reporters in Minnesota Thursday.
Griffin was the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year in 2012, passing for 3,200 yards and 20 touchdowns, and rushing for 815 yards. Cousins started a late-season game when Griffin missed time with a mild knee sprain in over Cleveland, with Griffin getting back in the lineup and sustaining a more serious knee injury in a season that ended with a playoff loss to Seattle.
Kirk Cousins (8) is pursued by Nick Bosa in a 34-26 win by the 49ers at Levi's Stadium in 2021.
"I know it was a weird situation, but he just kind of sat there and soaked everything in and learned a lot and it was a fun two years working with him every day," Shanahan said.
Things fell apart in 2013, with Griffin never regaining his pre-injury form and Cousins starting three games at the end of a season that circled the drain. The coaching staff, which included both Shanahans and future head coaches Sean McVay, Matt LaFleur and Mike McDaniel, was swept out by owner Daniel Snyder.
"When he left, we had just gone 3-13, I had played the last three games and went 0-3," Cousins said. "We were all kind of in disbelief in how we were. It's been amazing to see where everybody's paths have gone since then . . . you kind of believe the cream rises to the top in time and I think that's proven in the case of those coaches."
Kyle Shanahan moved on from Cleveland (2014) and Atlanta (2015-16) as offensive coordinator before becoming the 49ers' head coach in 2017. Cousins passed for 9,083 yards and 54 touchdowns in 2015-16 with Shanahan watching from afar and hoping he could some day make Cousins his quarterback when he became a head coach.
Any chance to sign Cousins as a free agent before Shanahan's first season with the 49ers evaporated when Washington gave him a franchise tag. Mike Shanahan told The Athletic his son wanted to trade the 49ers' No. 2 overall pick to Washington for Cousins but that couldn't get a return phone call.
Then on Halloween in 2017, the 49ers traded with New England for Jimmy Garoppolo. When Garoppolo won his last six games, the 49ers opted to sign him to a five-year, $137.5 million contract rather than pursue Cousins in free agency.
"You think about it all the way up to the moment," Shanahan said. "And when we traded for Jimmy, we were still thinking about it. But after those six games he played, we moved on and he's moved on and you don't really look back."
Cousins cashed in to the tune of three years and $84 million guaranteed in Minnesota in 2017, and at one point restructured the deal. He will be eligible for free agency after this season and with the Vikings struggling at 2-4, has been the subject of trade rumors before the Oct. 31 deadline.
In games against Shanahan as the head coach, Cousins won in 2017 with Washington and has lost twice to the 49ers with Minnesota — once in the NFC Divisional playoff following the 2019 season and again at Levi's in 2021.
Another source of Cousins information is passing game specialist Klint Kubiak, who coached quarterbacks and was an offensive coordinator for three years in Minnesota.
"I know Kyle has a ton of respect for him and he spent a lot of time in the team meeting talking to the defense about how he operates and what his process is like out there," middle linebacker Fred Warner said. "I feel we'll be real prepared when Monday comes around."
Said defensive end Nick Bosa: "He plays the position to a T. He goes through his reads, he's on time with the ball, he's accurate and smart."
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