No soccer coach needs a quarterback controversy in the midst of a season, which is why it made sense to listen to the San Francisco 49ers’ Kyle Shanahan rapidly strike down any sniff of 1 this week.

Coming off a powerful efficiency in a Week Three beatdown of the New York Giants, may Nick Mullens unseat Jimmy Garoppolo (out with a excessive ankle sprain) because the staff’s full-time starter?

“No, that situation doesn’t exist,” Shanahan mentioned Wednesday. “However I don’t suppose previous one recreation both. That’s for you [the media] to do. That is Jimmy’s staff. He’s finished a hell of a job for us and when he’s wholesome, he’ll be enjoying once more for us.”

OK, honest sufficient. It might be unfair at hand the keys to Mullens after one good recreation towards a foul Giants staff.

Garoppolo didn’t apply Wednesday, which suggests there’s an excellent probability he’ll miss a minimum of one other recreation because the Niners host the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday night time. That’ll be one other shot for Mullens to show his 343-yard, one-touchdown, zero-interception efficiency on Sunday wasn’t a fluke.

And what if Garoppolo’s ankle doesn’t heal properly and he’s out one other three or 4 video games and Mullens continues to mild it up and lead the Niners to extra wins? Will Shanahan be so fast to declare it Jimmy’s staff then?

With one of many strongest rosters within the NFL and the championship window open, the fourth-year head coach needs to be open to something that might assist the staff recover from the hump.

Pictured in 2019, San Francisco 49ers quarterback Nick Mullens (left) has been Jimmy Garoppolo’s backup for the previous two seasons. (Photograph by Michael Zagaris/San Francisco 49ers/Getty Pictures)

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No job is actually secure

Certainly, 49ers followers know that even nice quarterbacks can lose their jobs to younger, extra promising expertise due to poorly timed accidents.

Lest we neglect the awkward and contentious finish to Joe Montana’s tenure with San Francisco. When Montana missed a lot of the 1991 and 1992 seasons with elbow accidents, Steve Younger stepped in and performed at a excessive stage. He gained MVP in ’92, which put the 49ers locker room in an unsightly QB controversy as soon as Montana was wholesome. The staff traded Montana to Kansas Metropolis.

That was a Corridor of Famer who gained 4 Tremendous Bowls with the staff.

That is Jimmy Garoppolo, a participant with one full season as a starter beneath his belt.

And positive, that one season was spectacular. He led San Francisco to a 13-Three report and a Tremendous Bowl look final season, almost successful the factor earlier than all of it fell aside within the fourth quarter.

So how may a man like that be at risk of shedding his job? Quite a bit could depend upon what we see from Mullens and whether or not Garoppolo can keep wholesome.

Who has the sting?

How good is Mullens? What we’ve seen in a restricted pattern is a stable however not spectacular 25-year-old.

He performed the ultimate eight video games of San Francisco’s 2018 season after Garoppolo suffered a season-ending knee harm and then-backup C.J. Beathard damage his wrist in Week 8.

Mullens threw for two,277 yards and 13 touchdowns towards 10 interceptions in that stretch. The 49ers went 3-5 in these video games, although that was a far worse defensive staff than at the moment’s model. His 51.7 ranking in ESPN’s complete QBR ranked 21st within the NFL and he landed within the “backup” class with a 64.6 grade in Professional Soccer Focus.

Evaluate that to Jimmy G’s 2019 season and there’s a transparent benefit. Garoppolo was 12th in complete QBR (60.8) and he landed a 77.9 PFF grade, which places him on the higher finish of the “starter” scale.

Garoppolo additionally had a greater interception price (2.7 p.c) in 2019 vs. Mullens in 2018 (3.6), and performed higher towards the blitz. When opponents introduced additional strain, Garoppolo’s QB ranking was 92.9 final yr whereas Mullens was 88.9 beneath the identical circumstances a yr earlier.

To be honest to Mullens, he was a second-year participant in 2018 after going undrafted and spending 2017 on the Niners’ apply squad. Garoppolo is 28 and is enjoying his seventh yr within the NFL.

Mullens says within the two years since he final performed he has labored exhausting to study Shanahan’s offense, and that confirmed this yr.

Story continues

He picked aside the Jets and Giants in back-to-back weeks even with a really restricted number of go catchers as star tight finish George Kittle, dynamic receiver Deebo Samuel and speedy working again Raheem Mostert all sat out with accidents.

Kittle and Samuel may return this weekend as Mullens faces his first true check of 2020: a Philadelphia protection that ranks fifth within the NFL in yards allowed and has one of many fiercest go rushes within the league.

It’s one other alternative for Mullens to supply his Steve Younger second. Till that occurs, that is clearly Jimmy’s staff.

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