49ers coach Kyle Shanahan shares what he’s seen from Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel and why he’s not surprised by his former offensive coordinator’s success in Miami.
The name behind one of the 49ers' most popular plays first originated from a rap lyric in a song Kyle Shanahan and Mike McDaniel couldn't get out of their heads.
In a recent article by Eric Branch of the San Francisco Chronicle, one famous 49ers play call, "Fake 16 Stutter Z Dope Left," has become a favorite in San Francisco's locker room over the years.
The play has been used numerous times, including in the fourth quarter of the 49ers' 48-46 win over the New Orleans Saints in 2019 and even as recently as San Francisco's 38-10 win over the Arizona Cardinals in Week 11.
Stay in the game with the latest updates on your beloved Bay Area and California sports teams! Sign up here for our All Access Daily newsletter.
The play call is a fake reverse pitch, usually with one of San Francisco's dynamic wide receivers.
Shanahan joined KNBR 680's "Murph & Mac" on Friday where he was asked about the play and the song from which "dope" originated.
"I don't even know what song it is, I know it's a Mike Posner song and it's a rap line, it's not the name of it," Shanahan said. "It's about something he says and being 'dope as (something).' And it was just something that was in our heads at the time and we were saying it.
San Francisco 49ers
"(McDaniel) named it that and I told him, 'Man you naming it that gives me a better chance to call it' ... I can't just call it because I like the words, I got to make sure it's versus the right look."
One of Posner's tracks, a rap song titled "Noah's Ark" features the lyrics "I'm dope as f--k," which might be the song that Shanahan and McDaniel were listening to at the time. Shanahan and McDaniel focused on the word "dope" because of the letter "D," which keys in the offense on what play is about to be run.
The word association that goes into naming these play calls is a group effort and a fluid process until a name is agreed upon.
"It's not just Mike and I; it's everybody in the office," Shanahan explained. "That's what we sit here and do. I'm sitting here with Red Zone and can't wait to get off with you guys so I can get back and finish all these. You got to name them something, so you sit here and gameplan something off of what we're watching and you try and give it a name the players can remember, so it can be a fun name but it's got to paint a picture in guy's heads.
"So we use 'dope' because we like the word, like the song, but also because it had two down blockers and we wanted the 'D' in 'dope' to make them remember there was two down blockers. So it's just stuff like that and word association. Sometimes we spend way too long discussing that and eventually, I'm like, 'I don't care, just call 'bubblegum.' "
RELATED: 49ers place Mitchell on IR, hope he's available for playoffs
The brainstorming also goes beyond the coaching staff, as players oftentimes will suggest ideas for names that their hip-hop-enthused coaches would appreciate.
With Shanahan and McDaniel set to square off in a star-studded matchup between the 49ers and Miami Dolphins on Sunday at Levi's Stadium, both sides will have some level of familiarity with each other's schemes.
Especially "Fake 16 Stutter Z Dope Left."
Download and follow the 49ers Talk Podcast
