BEREA — Kyle Shanahan’s formative years growing up came in the 1990s. That puts the San Francisco 49ers coach’s teenage years right in the heart of the prime years for Prime Time, Pro Football Hall of Famer Deion Sanders.
“It is weird just because he was my hero growing up,” Shanahan recalled Bay Area reporters Nov. 26. “He was probably my No. 1 player just in terms of being a true fan. I always talk about how I got his jersey in ‘94 and wore it for about six months straight until someone jacked it from me. I’m still looking for that guy. But no, he was such a unique player. He was just different than everyone, his talent and everything.”
The weirdness comes from the fact that, three decades after having that Deion Sanders jersey stole from him, Shanahan will be looking to take something from the Hall of Famer’s son. The 49ers will come to Cleveland looking to spoil Shedeur Sanders’ second career start for the Browns, and his first start at home.
Buy Cleveland Browns tickets
Want to add a little more NFL family entanglements to the matchup? Kyle Shanahan’s father Mike, who would go on to win two Super Bowls as the head coach of the Denver Broncos, was the offensive coordinator of that 1994 49ers team on which Shedeur Sanders’ father, Deion, won his first Super Bowl and only Defensive Player of the Year award after joining that season as a free agent.
The elder Sanders has also ended up in the state of Colorado as a head coach, only at the University of Colorado. His first two seasons there also coincided with his son’s time as the Buffaloes’ quarterback.
“Now to watch him be a coach and to watch him raise, I think he’s got three boys, but to watch the two boys in sports have been really cool to watch,” Shanahan said. “I know my wife and my daughter, they’re huge Colorado fans too. So, I get hear about Buffaloes all the time.”
Right now, Shanahan and the 49ers aren’t focused on the Hall of Fame father or his college team. Instead, they’re focused on what they’ve noticed about Shedeur Sanders in his six quarters of NFL regular-season experience.
The younger Sanders, with his uber-famous father in attendance, made his first career start in a 24-10 win at the Las Vegas Raiders Nov. 23. He was 11-of-20 for 209 yards with a touchdown, an interception and a sack.
“He made a couple of really, really good throws in the game against Vegas, extending plays, getting out of the pocket, delivering the ball where it needed to be delivered,” 49ers defensive coordinator Robert Saleh told Bay Area reporters Nov. 26. “Obviously, he showed good command of the huddle and at the line of scrimmage. You anticipate someone like him who’s got that confidence, who has that skill set, he’s just going to get better and better every week.”
The proof in that can be found as simply as looking at Sanders’ stat lines from his debut in the second half in Week 11 against the Baltimore Ravens to what he did with a week’s worth of practice against the Raiders. He was 4-of-16 for 47 yards with an interception, a fumble he was able to recover and a 13.5 passer rating against the Ravens.
The next week, he more than doubled his completion percentage from 25% to 55%. He also led the Browns on four scoring drives, one of which included his first touchdown pass on a swing pass to Dylan Sampson.
“Shedeur, he came in over the last week-and-a-half, like his off-schedule stuff is going to be a problem, could already tell that,” Saleh said. “As he gets comfortable and what they’re asking him to do, he’s only going to get better because you could tell how important it is to him and how much work he’s going to put into it. A guy who’s as good as gifted as he is, both physically and mentally and with the confidence he has, you just know he’s going to get better.
“So, they’ll evolve as an offense. I wish I could tell you exactly what it’s going to be. We have an idea of what it’s going to be on Sunday, but I’m sure they’re going to keep adding little wrinkles to help him grow as a football player and we’re just going to have to be great in those moments and play good, sound, fundamental football.”
Chris Easterling can be reached at ceasterling@thebeaconjournal.com. Read more about the Browns at www.beaconjournal.com/sports/browns. Follow him on X at @ceasterlingABJ
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: 49ers’ Kyle Shanahan faces son of ‘hero’ Deion Sanders in Browns QB
Reporting by Chris Easterling, Akron Beacon Journal / Akron Beacon Journal
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
