Sean McVay vs. Kyle Shanahan record: Inside the head-to-head history between Rams, 49ers coaches

Daniel Mader

Sean McVay vs. Kyle Shanahan record: Inside the head-to-head history between Rams, 49ers coaches image

Sean McVay and Kyle Shanahan have an intertwined history.

Once upon a time in 2010, McVay was hired as the assistant tight ends coach in Washington under Kyle's father, Mike Shanahan. Kyle was the team's offensive coordinator at the time.

Some time later, both were also considered candidates for the Rams' head coaching vacancy back in 2017. Per ESPN, Kyle Shanahan, the Falcons' offensive coordinator at the time, was "heavily linked" to the Los Angeles job, but ultimately focused more on Atlanta's upcoming playoff run instead of interviewing.

Of course, it wasn't too long after that the Rams hired McVay. But Shanahan didn't go without a new job that offseason as well — shortly after the Falcons lost the Super Bowl, he was hired in San Fransisco

Since then, they've gone head-to-head quite often as division rivals, including an NFC Championship matchup. Here's an updated look at their head-to-head coaching history.

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Sean McVay vs. Kyle Shanahan head-to-head record

Both McVay and Shanahan didn't have prior head coaching experience when hired in 2017, so they've only met in the rivalry between the Rams and 49ers.

Shanahan has the advantage over McVay with a 10-7 all-time record in meetings between Los Angeles and San Francisco.

However, McVay has the upper hand in playoff success, having led the Rams to an NFC Championship victory over Shanahan's 49ers in 2022. Los Angeles went on to win the Super Bowl over the Bengals that year, and while San Fransisco has gone to the big game twice under Shanahan (both times facing Kansas City), it has yet to win a title with the head coach.

Here's a game-by-game breakdown of the history between McVay's Rams and Shanahan's 49ers.

DateWinnerScoreLoserScore
Sept. 21, 2017Rams4149ers39
Dec. 31, 201749ers34Rams13
Oct. 21, 2018Rams3949ers10
Dec. 30, 2018Rams4849ers32
Oct. 13, 201949ers20Rams7
Dec. 21, 201949ers34Rams31
Oct. 18, 202049ers24Rams16
Nov. 29, 202049ers23Rams20
Nov. 15, 202149ers31Rams10
Jan. 9, 202249ers27Rams24
Jan. 30, 2022 (NFC Championship)Rams2049ers17
Oct. 3, 202249ers24Rams9
Oct. 30, 202249ers31Rams14
Sept. 17, 202349ers30Rams23
Jan. 7, 2024Rams2149ers20
Sept. 22, 2024Rams2749ers24
Dec. 12, 2024Rams1249ers6

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Sean McVay career coaching record

With a Super Bowl ring to prove it, McVay has been considered one of the best offensive minds in the NFL for years. He's led the Rams to the playoffs five times, including two Super Bowl appearances.

Here's a look at his year-by-year results with Los Angeles.

YearRecordWin percentageNFC West finishPlayoff result
201711-5.6881stLost to Falcons in Wild Card round
201813-3.8131stLost to Patriots in Super Bowl
20199-7.5633rdMissed playoffs
202010-6.6252ndLost to Packers in divisional round
202112-5.7061stWon Super Bowl
20225-12.2943rdMissed playoffs
202310-7.5882ndLost to Lions in wild card round
202410-7.5881stLost to Eagles in divisional round
Totals:80-52.611----

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Kyle Shanahan career coaching record

Shanahan, meanwhile, has also been considered one of the best coaches in the league since joining the 49ers. He's led San Fransisco to the playoffs four times, with the squad reaching at least the conference championship in all four instances.

Here's a look at Shanahan's year-by-year results with San Fransisco:

YearRecordWin percentageNFC West finishPlayoff result
20176-10.3754thMissed playoffs
20184-12.2503rdMissed playoffs
201913-3.8131stLost to Chiefs in Super Bowl
20206-10.3754thMissed playoffs
202110-7.5883rdLost to Rams in NFC Championship
202213-4.7651stLost to Eagles in NFC Championship
202312-5.7061stLost to Chiefs in Super Bowl
20246-11.3534thMissed playoffs
Totals:70-62.538----

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Daniel Mader

Daniel Mader is a Content Producer for The Sporting News. He joined SN in 2024 as an editorial intern following graduation from Penn State University. He has previously written for Sports Illustrated, NBC Sports, the Centre Daily Times, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, The Daily Collegian and LancasterOnline. Daniel grew up in Lancaster, Penn., with a love for baseball that’ll never fade, but could also talk basketball or football for days.