Saw your show with Grant and how you both elaborated on his sins since the Super Bowl loss. I agree, Kyle's stubborness is his greatest down fall. His inability to learn and insistance on relying on his 'system' to provide all the answers, yet, it does not have any this year.
Kyle is just a system coach, he builds a system and insists on it to the detriment to his whole team. He is not a leader, he makes confounding decisions that makes him look like he strives to be 'one of the boys'. This is not a coach/leader. A leader leads the team and not try to be a member of the team. Unfortunately, I dont see him changing despite all signs pointing to the necessity of evolving.
I do think that stubborness is a 'sin' - it has it's roots in pride of the seven deadly sins. He is too proud of his system and the way he approaches coaching, too proud of his 'genius' to listen to others, too proud to be open to change. This goes to show why pride has always been the deadliest of the seven deadly sins.
I love your writing and your perspective. I have felt for some time that Kyle shows elements of a narcissistic personity. (not that other coaches don't also) The stubborness you write about is certainly a hallmark characteristic of that type of person. Inability to learn from mistakes, vindictiveness, blaming others when things go wrong and, perhaps worst of all, playing favorites beyond all sense of logic.
As we are all coming to understand from our current political crisis, narcissists tend to destroy the very things they covet the most. Sadly, this team is finally revealing the truth of that statement. I suppose it is probably somewhat pathological to expect a football team to provide a sense of joy in ones life, but being an ardent 49er fan going on 45 years I certainly am deriving no joy in watching this team melt down.
We need a better, emotionally more stable and generously supportive head coach. Time for a change.
Eddie D fired George Seifert after he won two Super Bowls. Eddie D fired OC Marc Trestman during a post-game press conference. Eddie D would have fired Kyle Shanahan immediately after last year’s Super Bowl when the “genius” didn’t even know the overtime rules. Time for the Yorks to pull the plug on the current regime.
Yes, yes, yes: incisive and pithy, your descriptions of Kyle’s behavior all hit the bullseye dead center. And, as you state, “Thou shalt not be stubborn” was not to my knowledge included in the Ten Commandments. The act of behaving stubbornly is not inherently sinful. One might stubbornly fight against injustice, or stubbornly refuse to give up when encountering obstacles on the path toward a cherished goal. It appears the “quality” of stubborn behavior depends upon less than obvious motivating factors.
So what continues to puzzle me about Kyle’s stubbornness is “Why?” Kyle seems to be intelligent; he is experienced and knowledgeable in his chosen field of football. He is no doubt aware of the dismal outcomes that follow his personnel and playcalling decisions.Yet he continues to double down on these blatant errors of gridiron judgment. What compels him to do so?
I’m thinking a better understanding of Kyle’s underlying motivators would suggest solutions and better inform management decisions. It could also provide a valuable metric for evaluating Kyle’s eventual successor.
I have definitely contemplated the nature of Kyle’s “why”, and have come up with a few theories. And just today Brian Baldinger suggested a completely different rationale behind Kyle’s resistance to change. Lowell, are you up for a deeper dive on this subject? You’ve a rich history covering the world of football as an investigative reporter. I would love to hear your thoughts and insight.
Finally, many, many thanks and much appreciation for all your work. I’m a dedicated Cohn fan, pere and fils!
Two other stubbornness blind spots: 1-why not give Josh Dobbs a chance against Packers, when Allen was clearly struggling (after showing up with a big brace on his non-throwing hand)? 2-Offensive Coordinator anyone?
Talk about hitting the nail on the head! 90% plus (of Niner fans young and old) have been saying these exact things for quite some time. He has even been asked questions at press conferences about these very issues and acts like the questioners are morons. Even sycophants such as Krueger call us morons and insist we know nothing about football. The fact is you don’t need to know anything about football to see what’s going on.
How I long for sitting in Candlestick during the ‘80’s and watching a true genius. We need a serious change in culture that doesn’t include KS!
Hi Lowell,
Saw your show with Grant and how you both elaborated on his sins since the Super Bowl loss. I agree, Kyle's stubborness is his greatest down fall. His inability to learn and insistance on relying on his 'system' to provide all the answers, yet, it does not have any this year.
Kyle is just a system coach, he builds a system and insists on it to the detriment to his whole team. He is not a leader, he makes confounding decisions that makes him look like he strives to be 'one of the boys'. This is not a coach/leader. A leader leads the team and not try to be a member of the team. Unfortunately, I dont see him changing despite all signs pointing to the necessity of evolving.
I do think that stubborness is a 'sin' - it has it's roots in pride of the seven deadly sins. He is too proud of his system and the way he approaches coaching, too proud of his 'genius' to listen to others, too proud to be open to change. This goes to show why pride has always been the deadliest of the seven deadly sins.
Much respect,
Phil
Phil, thanks for this very wise comment. Lowell
Thank you Lowell for the feedback.
"he is not a leader" ++
Hi Lowell,
I love your writing and your perspective. I have felt for some time that Kyle shows elements of a narcissistic personity. (not that other coaches don't also) The stubborness you write about is certainly a hallmark characteristic of that type of person. Inability to learn from mistakes, vindictiveness, blaming others when things go wrong and, perhaps worst of all, playing favorites beyond all sense of logic.
As we are all coming to understand from our current political crisis, narcissists tend to destroy the very things they covet the most. Sadly, this team is finally revealing the truth of that statement. I suppose it is probably somewhat pathological to expect a football team to provide a sense of joy in ones life, but being an ardent 49er fan going on 45 years I certainly am deriving no joy in watching this team melt down.
We need a better, emotionally more stable and generously supportive head coach. Time for a change.
Eddie D fired George Seifert after he won two Super Bowls. Eddie D fired OC Marc Trestman during a post-game press conference. Eddie D would have fired Kyle Shanahan immediately after last year’s Super Bowl when the “genius” didn’t even know the overtime rules. Time for the Yorks to pull the plug on the current regime.
Spot on!
Greetings, Lowell,
Yes, yes, yes: incisive and pithy, your descriptions of Kyle’s behavior all hit the bullseye dead center. And, as you state, “Thou shalt not be stubborn” was not to my knowledge included in the Ten Commandments. The act of behaving stubbornly is not inherently sinful. One might stubbornly fight against injustice, or stubbornly refuse to give up when encountering obstacles on the path toward a cherished goal. It appears the “quality” of stubborn behavior depends upon less than obvious motivating factors.
So what continues to puzzle me about Kyle’s stubbornness is “Why?” Kyle seems to be intelligent; he is experienced and knowledgeable in his chosen field of football. He is no doubt aware of the dismal outcomes that follow his personnel and playcalling decisions.Yet he continues to double down on these blatant errors of gridiron judgment. What compels him to do so?
I’m thinking a better understanding of Kyle’s underlying motivators would suggest solutions and better inform management decisions. It could also provide a valuable metric for evaluating Kyle’s eventual successor.
I have definitely contemplated the nature of Kyle’s “why”, and have come up with a few theories. And just today Brian Baldinger suggested a completely different rationale behind Kyle’s resistance to change. Lowell, are you up for a deeper dive on this subject? You’ve a rich history covering the world of football as an investigative reporter. I would love to hear your thoughts and insight.
Finally, many, many thanks and much appreciation for all your work. I’m a dedicated Cohn fan, pere and fils!
Two other stubbornness blind spots: 1-why not give Josh Dobbs a chance against Packers, when Allen was clearly struggling (after showing up with a big brace on his non-throwing hand)? 2-Offensive Coordinator anyone?
Talk about hitting the nail on the head! 90% plus (of Niner fans young and old) have been saying these exact things for quite some time. He has even been asked questions at press conferences about these very issues and acts like the questioners are morons. Even sycophants such as Krueger call us morons and insist we know nothing about football. The fact is you don’t need to know anything about football to see what’s going on.
How I long for sitting in Candlestick during the ‘80’s and watching a true genius. We need a serious change in culture that doesn’t include KS!
I love the honesty and real opinions. Local media seems scared or corrupt, probably both.
Thanks, Jeremy. Lowell