Yalie McDaniel no longer has his career choice questioned
About a decade ago, when Mike McDaniel was a modestly compensated running backs coach in the shortlived United Football League, the Yale graduate often fielded variations of the same question: Shouldn’t you be doing something else with your degree?
McDaniel, a history major, explored some investmentbanking opportunities, but knew it wasn’t a career fit. So his answer to those who questioned how he was using his Ivy League education: He was pursuing a passion that didn’t pay much.
“I realized for me to ultimately be satisfied in my career, I had to be passionate about it,” McDaniel said. “And, unfortunately, there wasn’t that much that I was passionate about besides football.”
Eleven years since he left the Sacramento Mountain Lions, there doesn’t appear to be much unfortunate about McDaniel’s career choice. In January, McDaniel, 38, head coach Kyle Shanahan’s longtime lieutenant, was promoted to offensive coordinator, meaning he’s outearning many of his Yale classmates. McDaniel’s move up the ladder came with a pay raise, but it didn’t come with many changes in his job description.
Shanahan remains the offensive playcaller, meaning McDaniel’s primary duties involve gameplanning. He previously was the rungame coordinator, and he presum
ably will assume some of the duties of passgame coordinator Mike LaFleur, who left in the offseason to become the Jets’ offensive coordinator. The arrangement isn’t unusual. The past two Super Bowl champions, the Buccaneers and Chiefs, employ playcalling head coaches who are assisted by their coordinators. In the NFC West, the Rams have offensive coordinator Kevin O’Connell, but head coach Sean McVay calls plays.
“It’s really not that different,” McDaniel said of his 2021 role. “… It’s really business as usual. It’s a very collaborative situation that Kyle Shanahan really creates on his coaching staff. And in that process, you have a voice and you’re part of all different phases. So now maybe I lead some collaboration among the coaching staff a little bit more, but it’s
really not that different, to be honest.”
McDaniel has spent 14 of the past 16 seasons with Shanahan, the interruption coming in 20092010 when McDaniel was in the UFL. His extensive history with Shanahan, which includes stops with five teams, has allowed him to understand his boss’ gameday rhythms and suggest play calls.
“On game day, he has an unbelievable ability to do two things at once,” McDaniel said. “To have a narrative in his head, but then also accept whatever input from the coaching staff. That’s something that being with him for 14 years, it’s a tremendous advantage for me because I can feel as a playcaller where he knows exactly where he’s going. And then, other times where he’s torn between two things, you’re able to shoot some ideas from the hip that you believe in.”
However, McDaniel doesn’t anticipate his gameday role regarding plays to expand beyond offering the occasional suggestion. He was asked whether there was a plan to have him call plays, in a preseason game or during a drive in a regularseason game.
“I think one of the best aspects that the San Francisco 49ers have going, is we have one of the best playcallers to have done it,” McDaniel said. “He’s done it for multiple teams for years. And it’s a real gift of his. So I don’t think that that does the 49ers good to try to work me in selfishly as the playcaller. We’re very comfortable in our working relationship, and he relies on my opinion. But he also makes it very clear that his expectation is that my opinion’s informed and that it adds value to him.”
McDaniel doesn’t have playcalling responsibilities, but he has no complaints. He’s still doing what he loves, while no longer fielding questions about what he’s doing with his Ivy League degree.
“I didn’t go into college thinking that the end game was coaching football,” McDaniel said. “But when I started investigating other avenues, it was an easy decision and something I never looked back on.”