Head Coach Kyle Shanahan Press Conference

Head Coach Kyle Shanahan

Press Conference – December 15, 2025

San Francisco 49ers

Opening comments:

“Injuries from the game. [OL] Spencer Burford with his knee and ankle checked out pretty good, expected to practice this week. [WR] Ricky Pearsall just aggravated his PCL again and his ankle sprain. We’ll see how this week goes with him. Not sure if he’ll be ready to practice. We’ll have to see how he is when we come back here in a couple days. [DL] Jordan Elliott with his knee irritation, expected to be good to practice this week. [LB] Nick Martin still remains in the concussion protocol and [LB Tatum] Bethune, [DL] Sam O [Okuayinonu] and [LB] Eric Kendricks, expected to get those guys back for practice this week, and we’ll continue with [DL] Yetur [Gross-Matos] practicing also. Go ahead guys.”

When you looked at the defense, I know there were inconsistencies, some missed tackles, what did you see there?

“A little bit of what you just said. I thought we had some missed tackles, too many of them. Less than we did versus Cleveland, got a little better in that way, but not to be confused with good enough. I thought in the second half, I thought it got away from us a little bit. Those last two drives we were expecting more two-minute offense. We were in some more two-minute calls and they stuck with some RPO runs which got a few explosives on us which tallied up about 50 to 60-yards pretty fast. Then I think the interception opportunities that we had. I think if we come down with those that we’ve got a chance to make that game look a little bit different.”

There were times where there were like nine hats in the screen to go after the ball, but then sometimes less than that. Is there anything that you need to discuss with consistency with them or is that just it?

“I mean, discuss with consistencies about coaching what happens on a play and mistakes and stuff. But, when you talk about getting hats in the screen and things like that, that’s effort, running to the ball. I haven’t had an issue with that at all.”

What’s the plan if Eric Kendricks comes back to practice? Would you expect him, if he’s healthy, to have a chance to be elevated and get out and contribute on Monday?

“Yeah I mean, if he was totally healthy, but that’s with all of them. Same with Tatum coming back from his high ankle. We’re not sure how they’re going to look. So, we’ll get them in there, see how it goes. We should get two full-speed practices in, which should give us a good idea. But, we’ve been short these last couple weeks, especially losing these guys, with Nick Martin, that’s why we had to take guys off other teams to get them up last week. So, they’ve got to get back into practice first, show us where they’re at and stuff and how it’s going and that’ll give us a chance to make some decisions come Friday or on this week come Saturday.”

How did you view QB Brock Purdy’s game? Was he, as far as decision making and where the ball went, how would you rate that performance compared to the rest of the games of the season?

“I thought Brock had a really good game, made a number of plays. By no means was perfect. There were a couple that he missed out there. But, there were also a couple plays that he made when it didn’t seem like anything was there. So, I thought Brock had a really good game.”

I know a concern of yours before the game was Tennessee Titans DT Jeffery Simmons and how he can be so aggressive to the center of the defensive line. How’d you feel your offensive line performed?

“I thought our O-Line played well. Simmons was still a problem. He is a hell of a player. We knew that going in and feel just the same if not stronger going out. It was tough when we didn’t have two guys on him like you see on tape. He’s very good at beating his one-on-ones. I felt like when we got two guys on him, we handled him pretty well. But, he kept competing through the game. A lot of respect for him in that way. And I loved how our guys competed against him because he’s a very big talent and he plays with the right demeanor and how physical and violent he plays. I loved how our guys were up for the challenge.”

A couple of times now, you have elevated DL Sebastian Valdez and then made him inactive. What is the reasoning behind that?

“Just mainly when we don’t have those guys up, and we have an extra spot, sometimes it’s a, we like showing guys just appreciation for what they’ve been doing in practice and everything. Gives them a little bit of a bonus and things like that and allows them to earn a little bit more money for the week. He has earned it. He has been awesome here for us. So, we felt he deserved that.”

A two-parter for you. The first one is are you going to open up WR Jacob Cowing’s window this week? What do you need to see from WR Jordan Watkins for him to get on the field, especially if Ricky isn’t able to go?

“Jordan needs to show out on the practice field that he is better than the guys in front of him. And it’s really tough with these guys when they’ve missed so much time, but he has been out here for a little bit getting back in shape and doing a good job in practice. But I mean, we’re going to play the top guys and he’s still working to show that he’s one of those. What was the other question? The one before that.”

Is the window going to be opened on Jacob Cowing?

“No, they didn’t tell me this week. So, I think our goal is next week versus Chicago.”

Do you admire what Indianapolis Colts QB Philip Rivers is doing at his age and have you had a chance to watch his performance against Seattle?

“I haven’t had a chance to watch it. But you know, I actually got to talk to him a little bit last week and I admire the hell out of it. I think he’s capable of it. What he did last night, and he gave that team a chance to win so we all know he is, obviously everyone’s seen that he’s capable of it. But, the way he plays and the style he plays with, I respect him as much as any quarterback I’ve ever studied. Just growing up over this last 20 years or whatever, what I admire the most is someone at that age to be able to come in there and want to play the right way, which is hanging in that pocket and taking some of those hits. That is something that gets very old fast to a lot of people. And for him to still have that toughness and that competitiveness, just he’s not going to get into anything unless he’s all about it and 100-percent in. That’s why he made the decision and that’s why I think he’s giving them a good chance to win and helping their team.”

Why did you talk to him last week? How did that come about?

“Just because he was talking with [assistant head coach defense] Gus [Bradley] because he’s got a good relationship with Gus Bradley being together there with the Chargers. Gus just came down to my room and got to talk to him for a little bit. I was telling him how cool it would be, and then at about 10 seconds into it I realized that we were playing against him in 10 days. So, I tried to kind of sway away from that and tell him how dumb it would be, but it didn’t work.”

What’s the level of concern for Pearsall’s injury, particularly the PCL, given the first time it took so long to get him back on the field?

“I mean, there is a concern. I think just dealing and seeing how those have gone this year. The ankle was a tough ankle injury, but that it checked out that it wasn’t a high and he was able to get through the game is somewhat encouraging. I mean, that shouldn’t rule him out for this week, but that combined with the knee, I mean, he aggravated it. It’s the same thing you guys would see with [QB] Mac [Jones] when he was in. Mac aggravated his PCL and when you land on that it’s real painful for a while, but it can go away. And that’s how you’d see it with Mac throughout the games and that’s kind of how it’s been with Ricky. But, I think on that last third down which was one of I thought the biggest plays in the game that allowed us to get a three-score lead and not allow them to have the ball down two scores there at the end. But, he landed on his knee and that’s a painful thing when you have that. So hopefully, it’s not at all like it was when he first did it, but it does take time for that pain to go away and hopefully that’ll be sooner than later over these next eight days.”

On that first play of the game, did that look like a hip-drop tackle to you?

“Oh yeah, no doubt. That one will be an easy one for them to see. That was the definition of one.”

What have you thought from the rookie class overall as the season’s gone along? It seems like a lot of them aren’t playing as much as they were earlier, but like you said basically that you’re going to play the best guys. Guys like OL Connor Colby got in a little bit the other day, but S Marques Sigle hasn’t played in a while and they had played a lot earlier in the year. Are they still learning and getting better although they’re not seeing the field?

“Yeah, I haven’t thought about, I’m not looking at a board with all our Draft picks and everything, but just as a whole I feel the same way about our rookie class now that I did at the beginning. I’ve been very encouraged with them. I think we’ve got the right type of guys. I think the guys on defense have contributed and played a bunch. I hear you with Sigle, but that’s not much against Sigle. That had to do with [S Malik] Mustapha coming back and Tig [S Ji’Ayir Brown] being a lot more experienced and playing at a pretty good level. And we’re not just going to play young guys just to play them. I have no problem playing young guys, but they’ve got to be further along than the veteran in front of them. You look at some positions and those guys have come back and so it’s given us more depth. They’ve gotten to play at times, which will help them going into next year. But, I also know at a number of those positions, if a guy gets hurt, I like the next guy to step up with a bunch of these rookies. The D-Linemen have been doing it throughout the year. [RB] Jordan James I think’s been great in practice. He just hasn’t gotten his opportunity with our backs staying healthy. But, I’m excited about our rookie class.”

I know he didn’t do much on the stat sheet yesterday, but TE George Kittle has gone on out of his way at least two or three times to talk about how impressive DL Alfred Collins is on film. How much do you like what he’s done this year?

“I really like what Alfred’s done this year. I still want him to keep getting better and he definitely hasn’t arrived yet, but he has shown us that he is what we hoped he’d be in terms of his talent level. And then getting to know the guy, I think he’s been even better than anticipated as a dude. Just a guy who really likes football, a guy who’s worked every day. I like where he is, but I also am more excited about what I think he can be. It’s going to be a lot of work finishing the season out that hopefully he can continue to get better and even come back next year stronger.”

It seemed like T Trent Williams knocked a lot of guys over yesterday, a lot of pancakes. Do you take note of that or does assistant head coach/offensive line coach Chris Foerster take note of that, the way the wide receiver room takes note of the big blocks by their members?

“No, they don’t. Not that I know of, I haven’t heard of it yet. I know Hank [wide receivers coach/passing game specialist Leonard Hankerson] had that hard hat award for knockdowns and stuff. But, I haven’t heard anything like that in the O-Line. We expect it also. Sometimes you don’t want guys going for the knockout every play. You just want them to block them as well as they can. So, you go for the knockout on O-Line, you whiff a lot. So, there’s a fine line between both of those. But, I didn’t know that about Trent as far as that, but I did know he had a hell of a game. He played really well in the run and the pass game. I’ve been very excited with how Trent’s been this year.”

Former TE Brent Jones going into the Hall of Fame yesterday, what are your memories of him and how he played the game?

“I loved Brent Jones. He was in his prime when I was here as a ball boy sixth grade through ninth grade. So, that’s who I remember being the Niners tight end. He was as good as it gets, always statistically just airing it out. One of the best pass tight ends in the league, from what I remember when I was in middle school and even in high school. And just how cool of a dude he was. I remember a lot of guys from those years. But, he was one of the guys who was different than others. There’s a group of them, but he was right up there as one of the cooler guys on the team. I got to see him yesterday right before the national anthem and it was cool to see him congratulate him and thought that it was only a matter of time. He is one of the Niners best and it was really cool to see him getting in our Hall of Fame.”