Three hottest seats on the San Francisco 49ers

The San Francisco 49ers were again one of the NFL's best teams in 2023, earning their second trip to the Super Bowl within the past five years. It was also their third consecutive trip to at least the NFC Championship Game. Even with all of that success, the 49ers were on the wrong end of a disappointing playoff game and are still searching for their first championship in the Kyle Shanahan era. 

That latest disappointing big-game loss might be one that actually pushes Shanahan to the hot seat if he continues to come up small in the biggest moments. Let's take a look at the other 49ers who could be on the hottest seats entering the 2024 season. 

Head coach Kyle Shanahan

At some point, there needs to be a serious discussion about Shanahan's postseason and big-game performances. His overall record in the regular season is undeniable. He is a great offensive coach and has found enormous success with the 49ers in getting them to the postseason and deep into the playoffs.

That is the good news.

The bad news is he has had, on paper, the most talented top-to-bottom roster in the league for five years now and has yet to win a Super Bowl. That might be easier to overlook if it were not for the way his team's have lost in the playoffs. His teams have blown two 10-point leads in two different Super Bowls. He blew a 10-point fourth-quarter lead in another NFC Championship Game to cost them a trip to the Super Bowl. He was the offensive coordinator for the Atlanta Falcons when they could not hold a 28-3 lead in a Super Bowl. 

One or two of those games is bad luck. All of those games are a trend. 

Offensive lineman Spencer Burford

Burford took a lot of heat for the 49ers' Super Bowl loss for a missed block on Kansas City Chiefs defensive lineman Chris Jones in overtime. It was a key play, and it helped define his season for the team.

While that play alone isn't the only reason that Burford might find himself on the hot seat, it certainly does not help. The 49ers do not have many weaknesses as a team, but the interior of their offensive line is probably one of them. The 49ers have invested a lot of time in developing Burford, but with Jon Feliciano returning, he is going to have to fight for a spot. 

Defensive lineman Javon Hargrave

The 49ers made one of the biggest splashes in free agency a year ago when they signed Javon Hargrave to a four-year, $84 million contract. He was coming off a monster year with the Philadelphia Eagles and was expected to make an already-deep 49ers defensive line even better.

It just never really worked out as planned.

Hargrave certainly wasn't bad (he still recorded seven sacks and was named to the Pro Bowl roster), but he also probably wasn't an $84 million player — and certainly not what the 49ers were expecting. Given his salary they need to see more from him in 2024, and he needs to produce more since he could be a potential cut after the season.