San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy views head coach Kyle Shanahan as one of the best offensive minds in football, even calling him a "Hall of Fame coach" during a recent conversation with Tim Kawakami on The TK Show podcast.
Purdy's respect for Shanahan is clear, and entering his fifth NFL season, he has spent more consecutive seasons working with the 49ers head coach than any NFL quarterback aside from Jimmy Garoppolo, who was with Shanahan from 2017-2022.
"It is weird because I still view Matt Ryan and him, and the [Matt] Schaub days with him as like—they were with each other for a long time," Purdy said. "But after looking at the stats and the years that he spent with guys, it's like, 'Oh shoot, we are going on Year 5 and Year 4 as a starter.' It is a big deal."
Since the 49ers selected Purdy with the final pick of the 2022 NFL Draft, the quarterback has enjoyed remarkable success. Despite that, Purdy remains focused on improving and believes he still has plenty to learn from Shanahan, who is widely regarded as one of the NFL's premier offensive minds.
The relationship between Shanahan and Purdy has continued to evolve, with the quarterback believing the coach's trust in him has grown throughout their time together.
"But the cool thing to me is I still feel like there's so much more ball I can learn from him," Purdy added. "And the way he operates, the way he calls things, how he game plans in a week, and what he's looking at defenses, and how he sees plays come off the film, those are the things that I want to keep learning from him.
"And that excites me because I feel like there's so much more to learn and we've had so much success, but there's more out there—on both ends—and especially for me. I feel like I'm still a young player that has all this room to learn and grow and be better. So, more than anything, I'm excited for the future for both of us."
Brock Purdy on a historic pace
Purdy has faced plenty of criticism throughout his NFL career, with some skeptics arguing that he benefits more from Shanahan's offensive system and the talent surrounding him than the offense benefits from his own abilities.
However, Purdy's production is difficult to dismiss. The 49ers quarterback owns a career passer rating of 104.0, a figure that ranks among the best in NFL history. He needs just 147 more pass attempts to qualify for the all-time leaderboard, where that mark would currently rank as the highest career passer rating ever recorded.
"I look at it as being efficient, staying on the field, putting up points, finding ways to win games, being efficient with completions, and not just throwing the ball around," Purdy said. "Those are things that I strive for and take pride in as a quarterback—a starting quarterback.
"I know people like to knock me for certain things, but at the end of the day, I think, if you turn on the film, those are the things that matter—staying on the field, being efficient, and I guess you get that number from that."
As Purdy enters another season leading the 49ers offense, his continued development alongside Shanahan could be one of the biggest factors in the team's pursuit of another championship.
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