Shanahan 'definitely excited' about possible move to 49ers

Atlanta Falcons offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan admitted Thursday that preparing for the NFC Championship Game is "the coolest moment" he's experienced in his young career, but there may be a bigger moment right around the corner.

The San Francisco 49ers are reportedly ready to offer Shanahan their vacant head coaching job after his season with his current club is over. League rules stipulate the Niners cannot contact Shanahan until after Sunday's game, but the 37-year-old says he's excited for the potential promotion.

"With my situation outside of this week, I'm definitely excited about that," Shanahan told ESPN's Vaughn McClure about potentially joining the 49ers. "But it's not really something that I know what the situation is right now.

"The way the NFL makes these rules and the way it is - this is my first time going through it - now seeing how the rules are, I see why it is this way. It makes it pretty easy for us. You know, you're only allowed to talk to teams when you do have a bye week. I got that opportunity a couple of weeks ago."

Shanahan expects to meet with the 49ers next week regardless of how Sunday's game turns out, stating that he's "looking forward to having those conversations". However, he denied having knowledge of an offer on the table.