For Niners coach, Warriors are Golden State standard

SANTA CLARA, Calif.—The Warriors, always the Warriors. Inevitably the Warriors.  They have become the Golden State standard of sporting success in Northern Cal.

   Even in a year they’re not successful. Even for the man whose current team held that exalted position as king of the Nob Hill --and may once again, Kyle Shanahan of the 49ers.

  Wednesday, four days away from undeniably the biggest game of Shanahan’s brief career as an NFL head coach.

  The NFC Championship figuratively on the table as the familiar helmets of the competing teams, the 49ers and Green Bay Packers literally were on a small table adjacent to where Shanahan and others spoke.

  “A dog and pony show, Shanahan called the display.

    There are numerous subplots to this game, albeit none involving dogs or ponies.

 Quarterbacking the Packers is Aaron Rodgers, the Cal kid, who when San Francisco held the No, 1 pick in the 2005 draft the Niners could have taken—should have taken.

  Shanahan has the opportunity to reach the Super Bowl his third year as a Niners coach, the way Bill Walsh the season of 1981 did his third year as Niners coach.

  The Niners started 0-9 in Shanahan’s first year; they went 2-14 Walsh’s first year, 981

  Joe Montana, a third-round pick became the star of those 1980s champion Niners; Jimmy Garoppolo was a second-round pick by New England, where he was supposed to be the next Tom Brady. Instead he has the chance to be the next Montana.

  And as Shanahan mentioned do not forget the Warriors, who were in the NBA finals the previous five years and captured the hearts of Bay Area fans—including the heart of Kyle Shanahan.

  ‘I have always been a fan of theirs, even before I got here,” said Shanahan who arrived in February 2017, well into Dubs’ half-decade of dominance.

    “Just watching how they play, I remember saying in Atlanta (he was the Falcons offensive coordinator) I wanted our receiver group to be similar to the Warriors to where who knows who the starter is; they can all play; Andre Iguodala, things like that. He wasn’t a starter, and he’s the NBA championship MVP.”

   If the sports aren’t comparable, pro football being more specialized, Shanahan’s thinking is understood. He wants athletes who are more concerned with the team’s success than their own.

  “”You’ve got a defensive player,” Shanahan said of Iguodala. “Guys who seem really not to care how it gets done.”

   Niners players tell you Garoppolo fits the template. His last game, he barely threw the ball, San Francisco running 47 times in the divisional win over Minnesota.

      “As long as we win,” Garoppolo affirmed. “I’m pretty happy when we win.”

    He’s been quite happy of late, and in command, part of a group Shanahan insists is as mature as any he’s been around, respectful of teammates, attentive to coaches.

  Veteran tackle Joe Staley said the team has a different vibe. There are no factions, no finger-pointing. Instead of looking for blame, said Shanahan, the players have looked for ways to improve. “You got the right guys,” said Shanahan, “they won’t stop working.”

   The Niners had the right guys in the 1980s and early ‘90s, Montana, Dwight Clark, Ronnie Lott, Roger Craig, Steve Young, Jerry Rice, and even though he was young—born in 1979—Shanahan knows the history. His dad was a Niners assistant coach in ’94.

  “I think being around, even at a young age, I knew how special the Super Bowl was,” said Shanahan “I think people of my generation, when they think of teams, big-time teams, it was the Niners, the Cowboys. You’ve got baseball; you got the Yankees and the Red Sox.  Growing up for me in basketball (he was from Chicago) it was always the Bulls.

  “We knew we had to build this team up and get back. But we knew how good the organization is.”

   Is it good enough to get the Niners where they used to be--or where the Warriors were? We’ll learn quickly enough.