Head Coach Kyle Shanahan Press Conference

Head Coach Kyle Shanahan

Press Conference – August 11, 2026

San Francisco 49ers

I know you were looking at the offensive side, but on your defensive side, obviously there were lots of scuffles early. Is that something you don’t love to see or is that just going to happen?

“I mean, I don’t want it because we just have a rule on both sides, if you throw a punch, you’re out. So, I think we got two guys thrown out. I’m not sure. I just got told two. And I don’t know if that’s accurate, but you don’t really care about scuffles. You just hate losing guys. The player loses all the reps for the day and then your position’s down for the whole day, so that usually can be a chain reaction to other guys. That’s why we don’t want that to happen. You expect a lot of it, but don’t want any punches thrown.”

You value these joint practices. Just under your initial impression, after things settled in, did it seem like the kind of work you were hoping to get?

“Yeah. It’s always different going against a different team because you’re used to how you do things. So, any time you see something that’s different, or a guy’s doing something different, everyone gets a little sensitive about it. For the most part, I know the way [Tennessee Titans head coach Robert] Saleh does things and the way we do are very similar, so I thought it was a pretty easy transition for us there. It gets really old going against the same stuff every day and the same people every day, so it was a little more fun going against other people, and it’ll be a little more fun watching tape here in a half hour.”

You didn’t have any of your top running backs. How did you think your offense did against them?

“I mean, I don’t really totally evaluate it that way. We made a lot of plays out there. I thought that we moved the ball well, but there’s a number of plays that we didn’t make. I love the three backs that we had throughout practice. That’s a small amount of numbers. Not even worrying about ones, twos or threes, just rotating them and trying to keep them fresh because they’re guys who would be expected to play in the game here in two days also. Them just be able to get through it and get their assignments, respect to those guys for it.”

What were your takeaways on how QB Brock Purdy played? In particular, he looked pretty sharp towards the finish.

“Yeah. Usually, Brock’s a really good player so I expect him to have good plays, so I notice all the bad plays. And I didn’t notice many bad plays today, so I think he had a hell of a day.”

Who were the players that you said were kicked out?

“I’m not sure. There’s a couple guys on defense. I’ve got an idea, but I don’t want to get one wrong.”

You mentioned that speaking to us the other day was a big step for you. Did you have any repercussions from that, or was it okay?

“No, it was good.”

You’ll do it more often then?

“Yeah, more often. Evaluating my health is somewhat embarrassing and I think getting old to everybody. So, don’t take it personal. I’m trying not to anymore. I was messed up, and I’m getting a lot better.”

Have you heard anything more about DL Nick Bosa and what he’s dealing with right now?

“Just soreness, tendonitis. It’s a pretty normal thing with ACLs. Just talking to our guys, they say it happens to about 90-percent of the guys we’ve had. So, it’s a normal thing. We’ve got to be smart here for week-to-week, but no concerns about it being any more than that.”

When it comes to RB Christian McCaffrey, I know that it feels like this is a little bit more precautionary than anything else, but is there any concern that this is something that could linger this year?

“No. My concern would be him toughing through tightness, like a lot of people do, and then hurting something bad and pulling something, which then it could be a month. That would be our concern. Once we hear him talking a certain way, Christian’s a guy who needs to get prepared for Week One, but we’re pretty confident what he’s done before this. We’re confident what he’s done in these two weeks. We just want to make sure that we don’t make it something to be concerned about.”

The fact that he’s been through this before, does that give you a little bit more optimism that you have a plan in place, he has a plan in place?

“Yeah. Honestly, I think everybody goes through this. When you have vets who know how to get ready for Week One. Lots of guys have this stuff, and you need to push through it. He’s not a guy who needs to do that, so it’s pretty simple with us.”

What did you see from WR De’Zhaun Stribling today and what have you seen from him throughout training camp?

“It’s been good to get him back. Some of the stuff he did that first week, and then he had some tightness and stuff, similar to Christian. We took him off for, I think a week. I want to guess this was his fourth day back, so I just love him getting the reps. We love his talent. We love the character and just how he plays. It’s such a different situation than Christian. We need to get him ready to play an NFL game, and it takes a while for rookies to do that. That’s why a lot aren’t ready for week one. So, it’s been really good to get him back. The way he attacks it each day, I think each day he’s got better and better. Hopefully he doesn’t have any injuries, so he can continue getting those days in for Week One, and if he does, feel real confident about him.”

He accelerates well through the ball, through the cuts. Is that something you’ve noticed, too?

“Getting in and out of cuts has to do with being able to run fast and break down and stuff. I think quarterbacks really feel guys who have good hands, and when you have good hands you can run through the football. A lot of guys, you’ve got to tempo your stride and stuff to kind of absorb the ball a little bit, and when you do that, DBs can knock it out. When you have a lot of confidence in your hands and you’ve got real good hand-eye and you’re aggressive with it, and he is. He trains that way. He’s got the ability that way. That’s something we look for a lot in guys that we like about him coming out.”

Your left guard battle between OL Robert Jones and OL Connor Colby. Did Jones do anything to take a step forward in that battle? How do you see that?

“I think it’s too early to say. There definitely is a battle there. It’s open for anybody. Those guys would probably be the lead at it. Love to get [OL] Carver [Willis] in that, too. Him missing a week or whatever it was with his concussion made him out of it a little bit, but he’s been out two practices in a row. It’s still early. We want to see those guys in the games, too, but it’s definitely a battle for us to see who gets that spot.”

Did you talk to Carver and OL Brett Toth about their concussions since you’ve endured it now?

“I mean, I saw him in the hallway. Said, ‘I feel for you,’ but not much more than that. Those guy’s got a lot more experience with it. Also, what I’ve learned is every single one’s different, so you don’t always want to act like it’s the exact same thing.”

Did you bring defensive coordinator Raheem Morris in intending for this defense to look considerably different going into the season?

“No. I mean, you’ve always got to take a risk when you hire people you haven’t worked with or people you haven’t gone against much. You kind of have an idea, but you really never know someone until you go through stuff with them. I knew Raheem as a quality control for the two years I worked in Tampa and was with him, I think, two of the four years in Washington and then both of the years in Atlanta. So, I always knew how good of a coach he was. He started in Tampa, too. Ran real similar to what we did in Atlanta. Then when he took over for the Rams and I had to go against him, it was a completely different defense, which is really tough to go against. The first thing I wanted to hire was the person. I do love that he has experience in a lot of different schemes, but it wasn’t that I wanted to just change everything. I do think you have to evolve. I think you look at us last year with Saleh, we evolved a lot and did some things that he had done for the first time that he hadn’t done or we hadn’t done in the previous eight years. Raheem has experience with all of it. I do think in this league with the way people know how to attack schemes and stuff, you don’t always have better players than the people you’re going against. When that does happen, you’ve got to change schemes up. We want the option to do both. Raheem has that experience. I don’t look at it as we’re going to be totally different, but I love that we have the ability to be different.”

How would you describe what a Robert Saleh-led team looks like and feels like?

“Saleh, as you guys know, a coach I respect a ton. It starts with his defense. You know how sound it’s going to be. Saleh’s not going to put something in that he doesn’t believe is sound versus everything, so it’s going to be very disciplined. It takes a little bit of time to get the guys that elite at it, so he’s going to do it over and over again. I can see they’re already way ahead of schedule. They really competed today and they definitely have a real good coach.”

Are you planning for playing time for Thursday?

“We have, but we haven’t told any of the players yet. There won’t be many starters playing. We’ll see with injuries today and stuff. That doesn’t mean none, but we’ve got to balance that out. We haven’t told the players yet, so wait until we do that with them this afternoon.”

I think some of your DBs have been pretty clear that they really appreciate Raheem’s scheme and what he’s telling them. A couple of them, more so than they’ve ever been, they’re being told to just play football. Maybe they didn’t love the scheme last year. How do you take those comments?

“I mean, I don’t know about them. I just read [S Ji’Ayir Brown] Tig’s quote right here on the way in, so I get the question. Knowing our guys, I don’t take that as a negative or anything. I think we’ve had one of the best schemes in football for a long time. I think we’ve played really good defense here for a long time. I don’t think it means it that way. There’s different styles to how you run coverages. I want to have some bend but don’t break where you stay on top and you never get up the go route and you expect linebackers to defend a lot of things all between the numbers. We’ve done that at a very high level, and we’ve had some of the best linebackers, to me, that I’ve ever seen be able to do that. But sometimes you blitz those guys. Sometimes you get guys hurt and they’re not there. When that happens, you need more corners to stop plays. I think that’s something that Raheem’s very used to. He majors in the secondary, where Saleh majored more in linebacker play. To be a good coordinator, you have to know all three levels, and they both do. It’s cool. I think those guys hear some different coaching points. There’s pluses and minuses to everything, but I think it’s cool for those guys to hear some different coaching points that weren’t as relevant at some times in other schemes. That makes it a little bit more fun for guys, but sometimes having to stop too much isn’t always fun, either. Sometimes you want to chill and have someone else stop it. So, it goes both ways.”

Stribling made a lot of plays today. How have you seen his confidence grow as he’s learned the playbook?

“The more he’s out there, the more he’ll get confident. Like I was just saying earlier, we truly believe he’s made of the right stuff. We know his ability. Now it’s about him going through a lot of situations that he hasn’t been through, that I expect him to fail out a number of times in practice. But, he’s good enough and made of the right stuff that he’ll eventually start getting through it. You’ve seen a lot of those today. Hopefully we can keep doing that more and more so he’s ready in Week One. It won’t stop there. There’ll be ups and downs throughout the whole year. That’s why we try to generate as much as possible in practice.”

How much adjustment do you have to make in terms of preparing for the season when FB Kyle Juszczyk is not there, given he’s kind of singular in terms of the position he plays for you guys?

“Not really any at all. We have other guys because Juice has done an awesome job staying healthy, so it doesn’t happen much. But, [TE] Jake Tonges can do that stuff. We’ve had [TE] Luke Farrell do that stuff. We’ve had [TE George] Kittle do some of that stuff. Sometimes we give [WR] Deebo [Samuel Sr.] the ball and we’ve had Christian do some of that stuff. So guys all have to do it. But, Juice is very similar to what we said about Christian. When guys prepare the right way and they’ve been through this so long, as long as they’re prepared the right way and not counting on camp to get them in shape, sometimes it can be somewhat of a benefit for those guys to get some things that keep them out that don’t allow them to get hurt worse. When he’s got a frustrating thing like I do right here, that’s nothing, but it’s just annoying for him. That I think could maybe help him in the long run.”

They made some plays today. What are your thoughts on your tight ends this camp so far?

“I thought they’ve done a real good job. I think the guys that we’ve had here in the past, guys like [TE] Brayden [Willis], Jake, Luke, I think all of them look better than what they were last year. And I was happy with them last year, but you’re always getting better or worse. I think they’ve taken the cut-ups, they’ve taken the offseason, and I think they’ve all improved in the pass game and the run game. It’s nice for them to get more opportunities without Kittle out there. And then I love all the new guys we brought in too. We’ve had some good competition there. And it’s always tough when you’re missing a guy like George and then you miss a guy like Juice, which as Juice will let you know, he still was playing the tight end position also. So those guys are down two spots of key contributors, which gives them a chance to do more and more. They’ve been ready for that just conditioning-wise. That’s why I think they’re all getting better.”