Would Kyle Shanahan and Bill Belichick on the 49ers work out the way most envision?

San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan is considered one of the best of the current era and arguably the best current coach without a Super Bowl win. Shanahan is 0-2 in Super Bowls with the 49ers but has them deep in the mix mostly every year.

Former New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick is viewed as the GOAT by many after winning six Vince Lombardi Trophies while leading the team. Despite his overall success in New England, Belichick finds himself unemployed heading into the 2024 season.

Imagine these two coaching titans teaming up within the same franchise. On paper, this sounds amazing. Shanahan is on offense with Belichick likely overseeing the defense. This would essentially make the 49ers a “super team” due to those minds running the show.

This sounds like a dream come true for Niners fans. But would it work as smoothly as most of us imagine? This fantasy scenario came close to happening, according to Shanahan.

"I did, I threw it out to him....He loves football so much that you never know what he ... I can't believe he's not a head coach of a team right now. I know what I would do if I was an owner so that shocks me and the last thing you want to do is insult someone like Bill Belichick. But I know he just loves ball in its simplest form, so I threw it all out to him, whatever he wanted to do, [including defensive coordinator]. I was like 'Would you be interested?' And he was very nice and appreciative and he politely turned me down," Shanahan said .

Just thinking about it is interesting and makes you think. What if? Shanahan and Belichick sound like the best coaching staff the NFL has ever seen with just those two. With those minds running the show, only a Super Bowl victory would be an acceptable result.

The Niners were in the Super Bowl last season and have appeared in the last three NFC Championship Games without Belichick. By adding his defensive expertise to this staff, it’s only appropriate to expect them to finally finish the story. San Francisco has lost three Super Bowls since winning its fifth back in 1994-1995.

Shanahan’s squad already has one of the most complete rosters, top to bottom, in the NFL. Adding Belichick to the mix sounds like the cherry on top. However, it's obvious Belichick “politely” declined because he wouldn’t have control.

Belichick has eight Super Bowl rings (two with the New York Giants) and has been a DC or HC for parts of five decades going back to the 1980s. He’d been a coach for the past 24 years in New England. Should Belichick return to an NFL sideline, it’ll only be as the head man in charge no matter how flattering the offer.

Both have been labeled geniuses during their careers and while it’s fun to think of what could’ve been, realistically it’ll never be. NFL players always get a bad reputation for having huge egos. But coaches at this level are no different. The sideline wouldn’t be big enough for these coaches.

Whenever Belichick returns, it’ll have to be the right situation under the right circumstances. His last two years in New England were mediocre to horrible at best. One too many 13-loss campaigns like last season and more people will begin questioning Belichick’s credibility as the GOAT.