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SANTA CLARA – Kyle Shanahan began his NFL coaching career under Jon Gruden, and he credits that experience as the foundation.
Shanahan has been called an offensive genius. Being the son of Mike Shanahan, he grew up in a household football, but where he got his Gruden in Tampa Bay.
NFL head coaches when the Raiders (1-6) and 49ers (1-7) play Thursday night at Levi's Stadium.
Shanahan paid his dues in Tampa Bay (2004-2005) as an offensive quality control coordinator after spending time at UCLA as a graduate assistant. This week, he detailed how much he learned from Gruden from his entry-level position.
"I had to do all the work and draw all the playbooks, break down all the film," Shanahan said. "Every building is different. You're a product of your environment, but it was such a good place because Jon was doing everything. It was not just his stuff. "
As part of his job description, Shanahan was asked to play Gruden requested. And there were a lot.
"He introduced me to pretty much every word known to man," Shanahan said. "I had to draw them all, had to make books on them. That's where you pay for everything. The fact that I was doing it for Jon, I got experience in just about anything.
"Jon would come in on a Tuesday morning at somewhere around 4:30 or 5, and drop it back to your desk with 140 drop-back passes you've got to draw."
In those days, Shanahan said that he used the computer graphics program SuperPaint to meticulously draw all the plays that Gruden requested.
"So you had to sit there and do it all," Shanahan said. "That's what I did the first year. It took forever. We got a better program the second year. But you just sat in a room and did not really until 10 at night. Then, you try to break down after movie. (I) listened to a lot of music and learned a lot of ball. "
Shanahan not only learned from Gruden but the entire coaching staff, of which is still in the NFL. On staff were Monte Kiffin, Mike Tomlin (Steelers coach), Rod Marinelli (Cowboys defensive coordinator), Joe Barry (Rams LBs / assistant head coach), Raheem Morris (Falcons WRs) and Joe Woods (Broncos defensive coordinator ).
"There was a lot of you in that building," Shanahan said. "Those were two years that I'm a lot to my foundation for what I do."
Shanahan compared his learning process of the Buccaneers' playbook to new players his own playbook for the first time. Jimmy Garoppolo's short playbook on the first season. Shanahan said, at first, it was very complex.
"Just like it's when they come in, it's for a coach, too, when you come in," Shanahan said. "You do not know what any of the words mean. It sounds like a foreign language, and no one is going to sit there with you. You've got to figure it out. You've got to read the books before and try to learn it. You've got to watch movie. "
Shanahan said that even though he had a hiatus in coaching for several years while serving as an analyst in the TV booth, he has not lost touch with what has changed on the field.
"Jon lives and dies football," Shanahan said. "So he never got away from it. He probably had more time to sit and look at everything, and did not get caught up in his own team. The whole league is evolved since then. It evolves year to year.
"But, you watch his system, he has a foundation of what he used to do, but he's kept up with everything. He's mixing in whatever's working with everyone else week to week. He's finding a way to implement it in his offense, too. "
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