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It’s entirely possible that Kyle Shanahan and John Lynch will never win a Super Bowl with the 49ers.

But if the 2025 season is any indication, their leadership, approach to roster-building, and overall philosophy have provided the 49ers with a foundation that should make the vast majority of NFL fan bases envious. 

This year’s squad has been decimated by injuries and has lost a few winnable games, but ahead of Tuesday’s NFL trade deadline, the 49ers are 6-3 and very much in the mix for a playoff berth in a conference filled with quality teams. There’s no guarantee the 49ers will continue to overcome injuries to top talent that have forced a wave of inexperienced players and rookies into action, but the mere fact the available players have made a case to supplement the roster with outside reinforcements is a testament to the value of continuity. 

One reason the NFL is so compelling is its parity. A struggling team is one franchise-changing draft pick away from a return to relevance, and a contender is one brutal injury away from riding a wave of adversity. It’s why owners have such a quick hook for middling executives and coaches and why teams move off quarterbacks with tens of millions left on their contracts.

If the path to the top is easily accessible, owners often believe they’re just a coach or a quarterback away from cruising into the fast lane.

The 49ers’ owner, Jed York, once subscribed to the groupthink that’s prevalent in NFL circles. He fired Jim Harbaugh and replaced him with Jim Tomsula, only to fire Tomsula and replace him with Chip Kelly. One year later, Kelly was out and Shanahan was installed as the franchise’s fourth head coach in four seasons.

If he held any other role in the organization, York probably wouldn’t have kept his job, either.  

“I own this football team. You can’t dismiss owners,” York reminded everyone after letting go Kelly and GM Trent Baalke. 

An era of extended instability gave way to the Shanahan-Lynch partnership, which has been fruitful. The 49ers have made four trips to the NFC Championship Game in eight seasons, plus two Super Bowl appearances.

They haven’t won a ring, and they probably won’t this season, but York shouldn’t have any incentive to pursue a change in leadership in the near future. In fact, keeping Shanahan and Lynch in charge is one of the reasons the 49ers have weathered the injury storm so successfully this year.

Many of their top fill-ins — linebacker Tatum Bethune, pass rusher Sam Okuayinonu, and tight end Jake Tonges, to name a few — are products of a system that prepares backups to step into more prominent roles. The 49ers’ eye for talent that fits their scheme hasn’t always led to draft-day success, but it did lead them to signing Mac Jones and Kendrick Bourne, who have filled voids created by injured stars. 

With Shanahan calling the offense, the 49ers have a clear identity. With Robert Saleh back to coordinate the defense, the franchise remains committed to a scheme that enables them to avoid the roster conundrums that follow when franchises move back and forth from 4-3 to 3-4. 

When Shanahan and Lynch were hired, they were asked to turn around a franchise that was headed in the wrong direction for too long. They haven’t steered the 49ers to a title, but more often than not, their teams have been competitive, compelling, and better equipped to handle the rigors of an NFL season than most others.

With a higher floor, there’s often a higher ceiling. 

In an all-or-nothing league in which pink slips are handed out like Halloween candy, there’s value in consistency, continuity, and stability. The 2025 49ers are showing why.