SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- There's only one official title Mike Shanahan has in relation to the San Francisco 49ers: "Dad."

As in, he's the father of Niners coach Kyle Shanahan and isn't on the team payroll as a consultant, assistant coach or anything of the sort.

But the title of father of the head coach offers Mike Shanahan, the two-time Super Bowl-winning coach of the Denver Broncos and former assistant in San Francisco, an opportunity to be there for his son as sounding board and consigliere without any of the defined roles that go with a job with the team.

During the first few months of Kyle Shanahan's first crack at being a head coach in the NFL, Mike Shanahan has been around the team facility on a fairly regular basis.together in the past and know how each other operates. Mike Shanahan, 64, also once went through the same transition from successful offensive coordinator to head coach.

In making that adjustment, Kyle Shanahan has acknowledged there were moments during the first few OTAs when he wasn't exactly sure where to go or what to do during certain periods of practice.

Having been so accustomed to focusing only on offense, the 37-year-old Shanahan seemed to get more comfortable as those practices rolled along. By the final session of minicamp, he was spending time with the defense, doling out tips on how to cover certain routes and even serving as the "quarterback" against the defense before team drills began.

Meanwhile, Mike Shanahan spent most of those practices alongside 49ers general manager John Lynch,