Head Coach Kyle Shanahan Press Conference

Head Coach Kyle Shanahan

Press Conference – October 24, 2025

San Francisco 49ers

Opening comments:

“Injuries for the game. [DL] Bryce Huff will be out. [OL Jake] Brendel, out. [DL] Yetur [Gross-Matos], out. [WR] Ricky [Pearsall], out. [QB Brock] Purdy, out. [OL] Spencer Burford will be questionable, [LB Luke] Gifford will be questionable and [DB Deommodore Lenoir] Dmo will be questionable. Go ahead.”

Will Brock make the trip?

“Yes.”

Why would he make it this time as opposed to the last one? Shorter flight?

“Just two weeks better.”

How has Dmo’s progression been?

“Good. Going in the right direction. I feel pretty good about him.”

The NFL sent out something today with the NFLPA regarding the NBA gambling thing to remind NFL players about what they can and can’t do. Is that something that you address with them or does somebody else take care of that?

“No, I don’t address that with them. We’ve got too much other stuff to worry about. Hopefully they don’t have time to do that stuff right now. But you asked if they sent something out?”

They’ve sent something out to all players.

“I know we all go through that in the offseason. With these mandatory meetings that we have, the NFL sends people out to speak with us. Obviously, it’s a huge deal. It’s got to be taken seriously. But, nothing we’re associated right now with our team.”

Are you beginning to zero in on a week for opening WR Brandon Aiyuk’s practice window?

“Yeah. I believe he’s getting a lot closer. Yeah.”

Could that happen next week?

“It could. I think we’re week-to-week now, so hopefully it’ll be sooner than later.”

Last week you used 48, the fact that LB Fred Warner wore 48 as maybe a little motivation for the guys. What went into that and what goes into your speeches on Saturdays? What’s the theme generally?

“What went into 48 was I was showing film on Fred, and he was wearing 48. So, I didn’t think anything of the number. I pointed out how different he looked. It wasn’t just the number. It was just how a lot of these guys look like rookies and then how they look now. Just from the lack of dreads, before the play started he didn’t look as good of a player. Now he looks unbelievable before the play starts, during the play and after the play was kind of the point of it. When you say Saturday night meetings or speeches, they’re all whatever I think we need at the moment. Sometimes I’ve got nothing. Usually I have a routine on Saturdays. I’ll sit and watch the games from the week before. I’ll watch the offense and I’ll watch the defense and I’ll watch the special teams. If I don’t have anything then, I re-watch the practice. Usually by the time that’s over, I know exactly what I feel we need to hear and what I want to say. It’s not always a fun process. It’s definitely not something I just plan out. It’s something I always try to find what I think we need.”

How many coordinators would you say are like to the level of defensive coordinator Robert Saleh who has come in and done amazingly well with the group that was really new with a lot of rookies and then also dealing with a ton of injuries early on in the season?

“I can’t really answer that, like the number of guys and stuff. I know Robert’s as good of a D-Coordinator as I’ve ever been around and as good of one as I’ve ever gone against. But, I can’t speak for everyone else. I haven’t worked with everybody and I haven’t gone against everyone. Sometimes going against someone doesn’t always tell the whole story. But, just being with Robert when he was a QC in Houston for four years to then being with him for four years here as a D-Coordinator and then being here now with him after him going away to be a head coach. Just all the things he’s been through, the different situations and how talented he is in general. But, then being in those situations have, to me, made him one of the best, if not the best.”

How much do you enjoy your Friday night JV football nights off and have you ever watched JV football and said, ‘Hey, I’ve got a pretty good idea there?’

“Sometimes. I usually get more annoyed that I see stuff in high school games that we’re doing, and I start to realize like, ‘man, they’re doing it here now too.’ Everyone’s phone shows everything now. So, I get annoyed when I see it in the NFL or college, but then when it’s happening there, I realize those days are over of keeping anything to just your own team. But, I really enjoy going to those games. If we have a home game, I always call Friday afternoon our weekend to enjoy a weekend. I love being able to go watch my son play, hang around my daughters and my wife. Whether I’m around football or not, it’s not the big deal. It’s kind of just being in the atmosphere and going out to dinner. Then I usually do the openers and go to bed. So, it’s a short weekend, but it’s a lot more fun when I have a football game to go to.”

You met Robert in Houston, right? What was he like back in think ’06?

“Yes. He was just as bald, just as jacked. He pretty much looks the exact same as he does now. He was a defense quality control and he was different than me. I didn’t even know how to do email and still really don’t. He was the QC and could get everything done so fast, which sometimes annoyed me. I’m like, ‘how you getting your work done fast?’ And he would read the directions actually and computer manuals and he would start to program everything on his own to make things faster. And I’d be like, ‘what IT guy did you get to do that?’ And he’d be like, ‘no, I just read the directions and figured it out.’ So, he had a little different style than me, but it was pretty cool how smart he was with all that stuff. Sometimes I think it hurt him in terms of D-Coordinators really wanted him as a QC because of how good he was at that stuff. And so, they didn’t want to lose him somewhere as a position coach. So, I think it took him a little bit longer. But, he was as good as anyone that I’d been around at that level. I remember trying hard to get us to hire him in Washington as a linebackers coach and never really got my opportunity until I came here. But, that’s why he was one of the first guys I thought about as a coordinator.”

He didn’t blow off his exams in college, you don’t think?

“No. I think he did something else before coaching. I think he was planning on making a lot of money in finance. I was on a one-way track. It was football or nothing for me.”

As the season progresses, do you want to meet with those guys a little bit more because you’re scouting other teams, looking at other teams to know what better defines like what you are and your tendencies? Do you kind of know all that off the top of your head?

“I like to think I’ve got an idea. Every time you think of something or call something or anything, you’re relating it to something else, you’re constantly thinking about that. But, if there was anything that I didn’t know that I figured out on my own, like if all of a sudden I just looked up something and found out how bad this was and no one brought it to my attention and they knew that, then I would be really bothered. I expect if anything’s wrong and we have a whole analytics department, we’ve got QCs, I’ve got position coaches, we’ve got players. If there’s anyone who knows something that’s messed up or seems weird it’s probably not on purpose. So, I want stuff always brought to my attention so we’ve got a chance to fix it. Sometimes people do bring stuff to my attention. I’m like, ‘yes, I know. I’m very well aware that we have a pass tendency on second-and-20,’ things like that. Some things you’re like, ‘alright, that was good,’ or ‘no, I’m aware and you can move on,’ but you want to make sure that no one’s ever afraid to tell you something because you need everyone looking out after you because you get lost in stuff a lot as a position coach, a coordinator and as a head coach.”