ENGLEWOOD, Colo.— In 2017, first-year 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan hired Rich Scangarello, previously the offensive coordinator at Wagner College, a small, private liberal arts school in New York City, to help run his offense. The 49ers weren’t calling it a rebuild, but that’s what it was; journeyman quarterback Brian Hoyer was brought in to lead the QB room and Shanahan drafted C.J. Beathard in the 3rd round. The idea was that Hoyer or Beathard would stick, or they’d trade for a QB, or go the free agent route the next spring.
Hoyer was benched halfway through his sixth start.