Kyle Shanahan says the San Francisco 49ers will be patient in their search for a franchise quarterback.

Shanahan has been linked to Kirk Cousins, who he coached with the Washington Redskins.

"You're not trying to commit everything to one year," Shanahan told KNBR-AM in San Francisco. "Yes, you want to win right away. That's the goal of everybody. But you don't want to do that at the expense of hurting your future.

"You don't want to gamble. You want to be aggressive in everything, but you got to do what's right. You have to build your team the right way and that's what I mean by being patient."