San Franciso 49ers’ new running back Christian McCaffrey, who was acquired this week via a trade with the Carolina Panthers, is back in the Bay Area where he starred at Stanford before heading to the NFL.
McCaffrey joins a 49ers team coached by Kyle Shanahan, who is the son of former Denver Broncos head coach Mike Shanahan, who coached father, Ed, with both the Denver Broncos and the 49ers.
Now, McCaffrey gets to play in the Shanahan offensive system, something he is fired up for.
“I’ve obviously watched them for a long time,” McCaffrey said, according to NFL.com’s Nick Shook. “In my opinion, the best run game and one of the most explosive offenses in the league. I think you just go down the roster and you look at all the guys – I think that’s the thing I’m most excited about – just getting in the locker room, getting to meet the guys. How could you not want to play here as an offensive weapon?
“I’m extremely fired up. Obviously I have a little bit of a history with coach Shanahan. I can’t express how happy I am to be here.”
“I don’t know if there’s anyone better at putting guys in positions to have success and tailor into what they’re good at,” McCaffrey said of Shanahan. “For me, I’ve watched him do some unbelievable things with some great running backs and even the running backs in the room right now. I’m just excited to learn from them and hear how coach Shanahan coaches not just the running back position, but every single position on the field. It’s something you kind of hear legends about.”
“I don’t think there’s anything he can’t do, whether it’s in the pass game, the run game, blocking,” Shanahan said of McCaffrey. “I think he’s a very talented player. Just watching how he plays, he’s a very smart player. He always gets to the right hole, is very smooth, and I’ve seen that at every level he’s played in.”
