This week, Bill Huber of Sports Illustrated's PackerCentral and I will do a six-part series breaking down the playoff matchup between the 49ers and the Packers.Here's Part 6:Matt LaFleur and the Packers' coaches vs. Kyle Shanahan and the 49ers' coaches.Matt LaFleur and the Packers CoachesHUBER: Under Matt LaFleur, the Packers became the first team in NFL history with three consecutive seasons of 13-plus wins. His three-year total of 39 wins is the most ever by a coach in his first three seasons. Hes never lost back-to-back games.LaFleur has had little interest in discu sing those accomplishments, though. One, thats not his nature. LaFleur is just as quick to deflect the praise as he is to take the blame. The credit for winning belongs to the players; the blame for losing falls Paul Molitor Jersey on himself. Its more than that, though. Green Bay is called Titletown for a reason. Its not NFC North Titletown, either. With 13 NFL championship banners, the Packers only mi sion is to win the Super Bowl. So, while regular-season wins and division championships are great, LaFleur understands that nobody cares about 13 regular-season wins if he cant get three wins in the postseason.To be sure, the pre sure is on. With the uncertain future of Aaron Rodgers, in particular, and the ma sive salary-cap problems that are going to impact the roster for next year, its hard to believe the Packers will be in such an advantageous Michael Pineda Jersey position 12 months from now. Is it likely that Jordan Love will be Green Bays quarterback next year while Rodgers will be in Denver? Who knows. But its at least a po sibility.Moreover, theres the pre sure to beat his counterpart, Kyle Shanahan. Maybe theyre friends, maybe theyre enemies. Either way, LaFleur badly wants to win this game. And theres the pre sure to put behind him last years lo s to Tampa Bay in the NFC Championship Game, an outcome stained by LaFleurs decision to a kick a field goal in the final moments.Incredibly for such a young coach, LaFleur built one hell of a coaching staff. Offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett will be some teams head coach next season. It helps to have Rodgers, obviously, but hes also won with Blake Bortles. His personality is face-of-the-franchise worthy. Quarterbacks coach Luke Getsy is highly regarded, as well, and offensive line coach Adam Stenavich consistently cobbled together strong units despite knee injuries sidelining All-Pro David Bakhtiari for 16 games, Pro Bowler Elgton Jenkins for nine games, rookie Josh Myers for 11 games and steady Billy Turner for four games. That the Packers offense has been so productive with a bunch of backups playing on the offensive line is a feather in the cap of all involved.The hiring of Joe Barry as defensive coordinator was widely criticized because of his track record at previous stops in Detroit and Washington, but his unit was a major reason why the Packers started 8-2 despite some spotty performances on offense.LaFleurs teams simply dont beat themselves. They finished No. 1 in giveaways and No. 1 in penalties.Until his team is No. 1 in the league in mid-February, though, everything hes done will come with the obvious yeah but caveat.Scroll to ContinueKyle Max Kepler Jersey Shanahan and the 49ers' CoachesCOHN: Acro s the league, Kyle Shanahan is known for being perhaps the brightest offensive mind in football. Acro s the country, he's known for blowing not one but two Super Bowls.He had a 25-point lead in the third quarter and lost to the Patriots when he was the Falcons offensive coordinator, and he had a 10-point lead with seven minutes left in the fourth quarter two years ago and lost by 11 to the Chiefs.If Shanahan were coaching then the way he's coaching now, his teams probably would have won both of those games.In each Super Bowl collapse, Shanahan abandoned his run game when he should have leaned on it to ice the game. Now, Shanahan leans on his run game no matter the situation. Take Week 18. The 49ers were down 17-3 to the Rams in the third quarter. Instead of going bombs away, Shanahan called 10 runs in a row, which set up a touchdown pa Rod Carew Jersey s from Deebo Samuel to Jauan Jennings. The 49ers quarterback never threw a pa s during this season-saving drive. This was the definitive drive of their season, and it illustrated Shanahan's growth.The past few years, the only person who has been able to shut down Shanahan's run game is Shanahan, and that's when he decides he'd rather pa s. This season, he's letting opponents off the hook far le s often, which is why the 49ers have won eight of their past 10 games after starting the season 3-5.Give running backs coach Bobby Turner credit for Shanahan's newfound commitment to the run game. Turner was Mike Shanahan's running backs coach in Denver, and he developped Hall of Famer Terrell Davis. Turner's latest project is Elijah Mitchell, who averaged 4.7 yards per carry this season, which is exactly what Davis averaged as a rookie. Turner also has helped Deebo Samuel become one of the most dangerous running backs in the NFL.Turner is an elite position coach.As is 49ers defensive line coach Kris Kocurek. Practically every player he develops turns out good. This Anibal Sanchez Jersey past week, Nick Bosa left the 49ers game early with a concu sion, and his replacement, Charles Omenihu, whom the 49ers signed midseason, came off the bench and recorded 1.5 sacks. Call it the Kocurek Effect. He has created one of the deepest pa s rushes in the NFL.And then there's rookie defensive coordinator DeMeco Ryans, who had to replace Robert Saleh when Saleh left to become the New York Jets head coach. Saleh was one of the best defensive coordinators in the league. So far, Ryans has been at least as good as Saleh ever was for the 49ers, as the 49ers defense ranked No. 3 this season in yards allowed.Ryans' worst moment of the season came against the Packers, when he let Aaron Rodgers drive the field with no timeouts and just 38 seconds left and set up a game-winning field goal.We'll see if Ryans and Shanahan can redeem themselves on Saturday.
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