Head Coach Kyle Shanahan Press Conference

Head Coach Kyle Shanahan

Press Conference – October 21, 2024

San Francisco 49ers

Opening comments:

“Alright guys, injuries from the game: [WR] Chris Conley had an ankle sprain, he will be day-to-day, [TE] George Kittle, foot sprain, day-to-day, [WR] Deebo Samuel [Sr.], he had kind of an odd illness, some fluid in his lungs so technically pneumonia, and confirming [WR] Brandon Aiyuk did tear his ACL, so obviously he’ll be out for the season. And that’s it from the game. Go ahead.”

Do you have a timeline for Deebo Samuel?

“No. We’ll see how he, he’s in the hospital still and we’ll see how he recovers here over these next couple days.”

Is there any other ligament damage to Brandon that could complicate his recovery?

“I know he had the MCL, also. But I haven’t got all the, I didn’t look into all of it yet. I just finished with the players, but I was told ACL and there was MCL in there also.”

You had a lengthy talk with QB Brock Purdy in the locker room after the game. Was there anything you were focusing on in particular when talking to him?

“No, we just were talking like we always do. I just didn’t realize all you guys were standing behind me, spying on us (laughter). But it was just, love talking to guys after the game. I just happened to be walking back and he was standing right there, so we stopped and started talking. I didn’t, it really caught me off, I forgot everyone was still in there. We were just hanging out, talking about the game and things like that. And then when I looked behind, you guys kind of scared me. I didn’t realize everyone was creeping so bad. But there was, that’s just what we all do, we talk.”

Looking back at the film, is there anything Brock is not seeing or that he is seeing that isn’t there, when you look at the film?

“Yeah, every game. There’s always every, just the same with the other quarterback on the other side. Those three picks, I know Brock would love to have back. He didn’t have anything on that last one down in the redzone, but he’s got to sit there and take the sack so we can kick a field goal and make it a six-point game.”

Are there any coaching points that, in particular, you’re focusing on with him? Or is it just all around seeing things the way they are on the field as opposed to what he might think he’s seeing?

“Yeah, we’ve got coaching points on every single play, so I can’t give an overall just narrative for you guys on a coaching point. But each play is different. Brock’s having a hell of a year, didn’t have a very, didn’t have his best game yesterday. And we just, that’s why I’m a little bit late into here. Just finished going through all those 70-something, 80 plays and got something on all of them for not just Brock, but for everybody.”

When did Deebo go to the hospital? Was it something he didn’t realize was as bad during the game or did he go in last night, this morning?

“He went in last night. I think it started acting up in the middle of the night Saturday night or early Sunday morning. And then it just kind of evolved as the day went. So once we found out he had the fluid in his lungs and stuff after the game, then I believe they sent him over there. I’m not sure the timeline of it, but I just found out that’s where he was Sunday night when I was at home.”

Have you had a chance to catch up with Brandon and what’s his initial reaction to the injury news?

“I talked with him last night, just calling him at his house. I haven’t seen him today. But he was hurting, just bummed out. Exactly how you’d expect. But B.A. is a strong dude and a spiritual guy and believes everything happens for a reason, so he’ll be alright. But definitely a little down last night and I was just telling him how bad I felt for him and just let him know we’re all here for him through this.”

I’m sure you probably wanted to ease WR Ricky Pearsall in a little bit more than you were able to. But when you went back and looked at the film, what did you see from him and what are your expectations going forward?

“I was proud of Ricky just for him having to be ready for some spots that we were hoping he didn’t have to be ready for. Not just him, but also [WR Jacob] Jake Cowing and [WR] Ronnie Bell. Conley’s been in that role and we’ve been utilizing him in a number of spots when guys are out or just taking a couple plays off. But we had to mix a lot of stuff around there in the second quarter and halftime, or mainly halftime, and those guys were some in spots they didn’t get reps at. And for the most part they didn’t make too many mistakes and gave us a chance to get back in the game and gave us a chance to win. Hopefully we can build off of that. These guys are going to get a lot more reps going forward with B.A. being out, with [WR] Jauan [Jennings] and Deebo, not sure if we’ll get them back this week or not. So it was a good start for those guys and they should have a lot more coming.”

What did you like what you saw from Cowing for what he did?

“I like how he ran on the screen that we got him. That was the first play out that we missed BA. So, it was nice to get him a screen the first play. I thought he ran it pretty aggressively and I think got nine yards on it. He was ready for the curl pump that we gave him later in the game. But he stepped in and did a good job when he got his opportunities.”

Where do things stand with RB Christian McCaffrey and K Jake Moody and anything on LB Dre Greenlaw potentially come back to practice anytime soon?

“Christian’s still progressing through his rehab. He hasn’t had any setbacks, so it’s been all good news so far. I’d be surprised to get him back this week. But hopefully the Bye week will go well and have a much better chance there right after the Bye week. Greenlaw’s still a few weeks after that. Everything’s still going fine, but no time soon right now. Jake Moody with a high ankle sprain. We know we’re not going to get him back until after the Bye week at the earliest, so we’ll have to wait until then to see how it reacts.”

You talked about last night about a hard look at the film today. What was it like going over it with the team and how did you think they responded?

“I try to cover as much as I can as the team, I don’t get as much into the details with the team because there’s so many clips to go over. I try to just let them know what happened throughout the game, the perspective of all three phases. And then we break up into our rooms and detail it in the positions a lot more. I’s always hard after a loss like that to come in and watch it. I thought the guys handled it well though. I wanted to show all the spots that as bad as it did feel, how many times we had a chance to win. I’m not trying to take anything away from Kansas City, but how much we hurt ourselves in that game and how many things that, despite injuries, despite anything like that, that we can dictate. We did it at times, which got us close, but it wasn’t good enough and we made too many mistakes. And with the turnovers, with some of the things in the redzone, and there’s a number of things that we can do a lot better that can lead to a win. If you don’t correct that stuff, it doesn’t matter who you play. You end up being a .500-type team.”

With the injury to Brandon and the situation with Deebo, you talked about Conley and Jennings’ hip, how does that shape up your strategy going forward with the trade deadline a couple of weeks now closing in? We saw a couple of wide out movements. How does that factor into the way you’re thinking about the trade deadline now?

“Well, it makes you look into everything. We try to look into everything regardless. Obviously with more issues that came up yesterday, you still want to look into everything, but it has to do with what options are out there with stuff that we can pull off that doesn’t totally hurt us, that helps us now and doesn’t hurt us for the future. There’s lots of decisions that go into it. So, we’ll look into everything, but a lot of times that’s just kind of living in hope. Those answers aren’t always out there. You’ve got to be ready to get people better in your building and deal with what you’ve got in your building. And if you ever find something that makes sense, we will never hesitate on it but it’s not always available like you hope it is.”