San Francisco coach Kyle Shanahan has revealed he offered Bill Belichick a coaching role at the 49ers but was “politely” turned down.

Belichick is the most successful coach in Super Bowl history with six titles but has been out of work since leaving the New England Patriots in January after 24 trophy-laden years.

He interviewed for the head coach position at the Atlanta Falcons but was overlooked in favour of Raheem Morris.

Shanahan was eager to tap into the 72-year-old’s vast experience and offered him a place on the staff – “whatever he wanted to do” – an offer that is thought to have included the role of defensive co-ordinator that was eventually filled by Nick Sorensen.

Back again at #49ersCamp ☀️ pic.twitter.com/ZIBPRWNssj

— San Francisco 49ers (@49ers) July 23, 2024

But Shanahan rebuffed his advances and, as it stands, will start the 2024 season as an analyst for Inside the NFL.

Shanahan told The TK Show podcast: “I did, I threw it out to him. 

“He loves football so much that you never know what he … I can’t believe that he’s not a head coach of a team right now. I know what I would do if I was an owner so that shocks me and the last thing you want to do is insult someone like Bill Belichick. 

“But I know he just loves ball in its simplest form, so I threw it all out to him, whatever he wanted to do.

“I was like, ‘would you be interested?’ And he was very nice and appreciative, but he politely turned me down.”

Shanahan admits Belichick’s arrival could have caused problems down the line

Shanahan is convinced Belichick will be back on the sideline soon, however, and failed to suppress his admiration for a man who has 302 career NFL wins to his name.

“I’m sure he’s going to be back in the league next year, and I could be going against him,” Shanahan said. 

“He could be in the NFC West. It would have sucked if he came here, and then he was going against us, so that’s the stuff you have to be careful about. But he’s the best, and I just like talking to him.”

Wildfire smoke moving into Colorado from Canada and high ozone levels continue to choke the state Wednesday, prompting alerts for hazardous air quality.

As of 6:30 a.m. Wednesday, Denver and most of the surrounding area had air quality index ratings between 100 and 150, according to live tracking data from IQAir.

“When AQI values are above 100, air quality is considered to be unhealthy, at first for members of populations at greatest risk of a health effect, then for the entire population as AQI values get higher (greater than 150),” according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Multiple air quality stations in Denver, Arvada and Pueblo reported “unhealthy” AQIs above 150 on Wednesday.

State officials also reported unhealthy levels of ozone in the Denver area Wednesday morning.

Air monitors across northern Colorado and the Front Range showed high concentrations of particulate matter, which can be smoke, soot, ash or liquid particles that people can inhale.

Denver air monitors Wednesday recorded rates of particulate matter nearly seven times higher than the level considered safe by the Environmental Protection Agency, according to the agency’s fire and smoke map.

State health and air quality officials issued a “multiple pollutants” action day alert Tuesday that will last through 4 p.m. Wednesday.

Warm and stagnant weather combined with increasing amounts of out-of-state wildfire smoke will result in ozone and fine particulate matter concentrations reaching unhealthy levels for air quality, Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment officials said in the action day alert.

The air quality advisory was issued for Douglas, Jefferson, Arapahoe, Denver, Adams, Broomfield, Boulder, Larimer and Weld counties, but poor air quality is being seen across eastern Colorado, state officials said.

Where possible, people should limit driving gas and diesel-powered vehicles until 4 p.m. Wednesday, the alert stated.

At 9 a.m., the “multiple pollutants” action day alert expanded to include Teller, El Paso, Fremont, Pueblo, Kiowa, Bent, Otero, Sedgwick, Logan, Phillips, Morgan, Yuma, Washington, Elbert, Lincoln, Kit Carson, Cheyenne, Custer, Huerfano, Las Animas, Baca, Gilpin, Clear Creek and Park counties.

“Heavy smoke will result in elevated concentrations of both ozone and particle pollution through at least Thursday morning,” state officials said.

The new alert will remain in effect until 9 a.m. Thursday.

“People with heart or lung disease, older adults and children should avoid prolonged or heavy exertion and limit time outdoors,” state officials said in the alert. “Everyone else should reduce prolonged or heavy exertion and, while outside, take more breaks.”

State officials said people should stay inside if smoke becomes thick in their neighborhood and should consider temporarily relocating if smoke is present indoors or making residents ill.

If visibility is less than 5 miles due to smoke in the area, the air quality has reached unhealthy levels, state officials said.

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Originally Published: July 24, 2024 at 7:07 a.m.

The Seattle Seahawks are hoping to improve on the offensive side of the ball this upcoming season, specifically in the passing game.

After a historic 2022 campaign, Geno Smith didn’t meet those same standards in 2023, leading the Seahawks to trade for Sam Howell from the Washington Commanders. On top of that, there’s a new coaching staff in town. The offense will be led by Ryan Grubb, and he hopes his adjusted college passing attack can translate to the NFL.

“Ryan Grubb’s explosive passing game helped the University of Washington make it all the way to this past season’s College Football Playoff National Championship Game,” NFL.com’s Eric Edholm writes. “Will the offensive coordinator’s scheme translate to the professional team in town? Seattle’s receiving corps — headlined by DK Metcalf, Tyler Lockett and Jaxon Smith-Njigba — gives Grubb plenty of firepower, even if there are big worries with other elements of the offense.”

The Seahawks may boast one of the best receiving corps in the NFL, but that will mean nothing if Smith cannot learn Grubb’s new system the way he needs to. It may be a little different than what the Seahawks were running before, but there’s potential for it to be even better.

It all comes down to whether Smith (or Howell) can run the offense effectively. If the Seahawks have a steady hand leading the way, they could make a return to the postseason in 2024. The Seahawks are set to begin training camp practices on Wednesday.