49ers' Samuel: Shanahan shouldn't be on hot seat amid 5-6 start

San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Deebo Samuel doesn't understand why people believe head coach Kyle Shanahan is on the hot seat after the team's 5-6 start to the 2024 campaign.

"Since I've been here, I don't think we've had nothing but one losing season, and I think that was Covid," the wideout said on the "Cleats and Convos" podcast.

"First year, Super Bowl. Second year, I mean COVID hit. Year after that, NFC Championship. Year after that, NFC Championship again. Last year, Super Bowl," Samuel added. "So it's like, why are you saying he's in the hot seat?"

Shanahan owns a 69-57 record in eight campaigns as San Francisco's sideline boss. Since 2021, the 49ers sit tied for fourth in regular-season wins and have the second-most playoff victories in the NFL.

The Niners are coming off a 38-10 loss to the Green Bay Packers in which they played without Brock Purdy, Trent Williams, and Nick Bosa. The defeat dropped them to last in the NFC West, but they still sit just one game back of the first-place Seattle Seahawks.

San Francisco has struggled to overcome injuries to key players this season - both Brandon Aiyuk and Christian McCaffrey have also missed time. As a result, Shanahan's offense, which ranked inside the top six in points per game in 2022 and 2023, is 13th in the NFL this year. The defense has also failed to meet expectations, sitting 20th in success rate through 11 games.

"At the end of the day, we're 5-6 right now, but we got like six, seven games ahead," Samuel added. "Kyle is one of the smartest, most 'player' coaches people can ask for.

"I don't get into, 'he on the hot seat, he this, he that.' I just look at it from me going into the building every day and just see his approach to the game. Even though we're kind of behind the eight ball right now, he doesn't look at it that way. If he could start it all over again, this is where he would want to be."

The 49ers' next tilt is against the Buffalo Bills on Sunday Night Football.