The Big Lead

Jimmy Garoppolo's brother trolls 'offensive guru' Kyle Shanahan after 49ers loss

By Joe Lago

Dec 12, 2024; Santa Clara, California, USA; San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan on the sideline against the Los Angeles Rams during the fourth quarter at Levi's Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-Imagn Images
Dec 12, 2024; Santa Clara, California, USA; San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan on the sideline against the Los Angeles Rams during the fourth quarter at Levi's Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-Imagn Images / Kelley L Cox-Imagn Images
facebooktwitter

The San Francisco 49ers' disappointing season essentially came to an end Thursday night with a 12-6 loss to the rival Los Angeles Rams. The Niners fell to 6-8, lowering their already slim playoff chances to less than 1%.

Adding insult to the painful defeat was 49ers linebacker De'Vondre Campbell choosing to quit on his team after refusing to take the field for injured starter Dre Greenlaw.

RELATED: De'Vondre Campbell quits on 49ers, adds more disappointment to bad season

Just about everything has gone wrong for San Francisco only 10 months after reaching Super Bowl LVII, including the once-indomitable play calling of Shanahan.

Contract holdouts (Brandon Aiyuk), injuries (Christian McCaffrey and Trent Wiliams) and inconsistent play (Brock Purdy) have sapped the rhythm and strength of the once-mighty Niners offense. However, the blame for the team's post-Super Bowl slide squarely falls on Shanahan, "the man who had the most to do with the 49ers’ failings," according to The Athletic's Michael Silver.

Shanahan detractors are relishing the demise of the San Francisco coach, including the brother of Jimmy Garoppolo, the former 49ers starting quarterback and current Rams backup QB.

Billy Garoppolo was in attendance at Levi's Stadium for Thursday night's game, and he seized the opportunity to ridicule San Francisco's touchdown-less effort with an Instagram post mocking Shanahan the "offensive guru."

Jimmy Garoppolo became the poster child for everything that was wrong with the Niners toward the end of his six-year tenure in the Bay Area.

Shanahan's dissatisfaction with Garoppolo prompted San Francisco to boldly trade up to draft Trey Lance with the No. 3 overall pick in 2021. Lance didn't work out, but the 49ers struck gold with Purdy, the last pick of the 2022 NFL Draft who became a Pro Bowler last year.

Garoppolo signed with the Las Vegas Raiders in 2023 but fell out of favor after just six starts with the firing of head coach Josh McDaniels. He has yet to take a snap for the Rams this year, but he has to be enjoying L.A.'s late-season push for the playoffs. Thursday's road win against S.F. had to be especially enjoyable.

MORE TOP STORIES From the Big Lead
NFL: 2025 Mock Draft 1.0
CFB/NFL: Belichick contract has very cheap out
MLB: Winners and losers from the Winter Meetings
NBA: Jimmy Buckets welcomes the trade talk