At the league meetings in Arizona, Kyle Shanahan says that he thinks Tevin Coleman will be his back-of-choice in goal-line situations. That might seem odd, since Shanahan didn’t use Coleman much in those situations when they were together in Atlanta.
Shanahan made his comments to Matt Barrows of TheAthletic.com. The third-year coach says his preference is to feature one runner in goal-line situations, and that Coleman probably will be that guy for the 49ers.
“Tevin runs hard and he’s physical,” Shanahan says. “Tevin plays like a big back to me. And I don’t even know his exact weight compared to everyone else in the league. I think he’s like 215 [pounds], but Tevin runs hard, he gets downhill and he is not at all, he just doesn’t run like a small back.”
San Francisco ran for only 7 touchdowns last year, tying for fewest in the league. But it did have some success running the ball. Only two teams got more rushing yards from their running backs. That is, set aside quarterbacks and wide receivers, and the 49ers ranked 3rd in rushing at 112 yards per game.
When Shanahan was the offensive coordinator in Atlanta for two years, he didn’t use Coleman much at all in short-yardage situations. He preferred Devonta Freeman, who’s a shorter, more compact runner. At 6-foot-1 and 210 pounds, Coleman is built more like a wide receiver – he’s cut high and is more of a long-strider.
But the makeup of San Francisco’s backfield is different. Matt Breida, Raheem Mostert and Jeff Wilson all weigh under 200 pounds. Jerick McKinnon isn’t much bigger (205) and is coming off reconstructive knee surgery. Coleman isn’t big but probably will be the largest tailback on their 53-man roster.
Coleman wasn’t an effective short-yardage runner last year, successful on only 3 of 6 carries when the Falcons were looking for 1 yard to either score or keep a drive alive. He wasn’t helped by an offensive line that was overrun at times. The Falcons were comically ineffective around the goal line, with plays consistently getting blown up. Inside the 5, Coleman, Ito Smith and Devonta Freeman combined to carry the ball 12 times, and those plays generated a total of minus-10 yards, with just one touchdown. (Coleman’s share of that futility: 6 for minus-4, no touchdowns.)
Coleman wasn’t as awful in previous years as a short yardage runner but wasn’t heavily used. With Shanahan in 2016, he went 4 of 6 (when needing a yard). In 2017, Coleman went 6 of 9.
Over the past three years, 35 running backs have had at least 20 carries when needing 1 yard. Coleman weighs in at 21st on that list, with a 62 percent success rate.
| SHORT-YARDAGE RUSHING SINCE 2016 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Player | "Good" | Att | Pct |
| Robert Turbin, Ind. | 17 | 20 | 85.0% |
| Ezekiel Elliott, Dall. | 52 | 65 | 80.0% |
| LeVeon Bell, Pitt. | 20 | 25 | 80.0% |
| Kareem Hunt, K.C. | 16 | 21 | 76.2% |
| James Conner, Pitt. | 16 | 21 | 76.2% |
| Jonathan Stewart, Car. | 20 | 27 | 74.1% |
| Leonard Fournette, Jac. | 17 | 23 | 73.9% |
| Mark Ingram, N.O. | 30 | 42 | 71.4% |
| DeMarco Murray, Ten. | 20 | 28 | 71.4% |
| Derrick Henry, Ten. | 27 | 38 | 71.1% |
| Latavius Murray, Oak.-Min. | 29 | 41 | 70.7% |
| Chris Carson, Sea. | 20 | 29 | 69.0% |
| Mike Gillislee, 3 tms | 22 | 32 | 68.8% |
| Jordan Howard, Chi. | 27 | 40 | 67.5% |
| Marshawn Lynch, Oak. | 16 | 24 | 66.7% |
| Joe Mixon, Cin. | 16 | 25 | 64.0% |
| Melvin Gordon, LAC | 35 | 55 | 63.6% |
| David Johnson, Ariz. | 28 | 44 | 63.6% |
| Isaiah Crowell, 2 tms | 15 | 24 | 62.5% |
| Spencer Ware, K.C. | 13 | 21 | 61.9% |
| Tevin Coleman, Atl. | 13 | 21 | 61.9% |
| Todd Gurley, LAR | 40 | 65 | 61.5% |
| Devonta Freeman, Atl. | 24 | 39 | 61.5% |
| Frank Gore, 2 tms | 14 | 23 | 60.9% |
| LeGarrette Blount, 3 tms | 29 | 48 | 60.4% |
| Chris Ivory, 2 tms | 12 | 20 | 60.0% |
| Jamaal Williams, G.B. | 12 | 20 | 60.0% |
| Zach Zenner, Det. | 12 | 20 | 60.0% |
| Alfred Blue, Hou. | 13 | 23 | 56.5% |
| Carlos Hyde, 3 tms | 23 | 42 | 54.8% |
| LeSean McCoy, Buff. | 12 | 22 | 54.5% |
| Doug Martin, 2 tms | 13 | 24 | 54.2% |
| C.J. Anderson, 2 tms | 11 | 21 | 52.4% |
| Sony Michel, N.E. | 12 | 23 | 52.2% |
| Bilal Powell, NYJ | 11 | 22 | 50.0% |
—Ian Allan