Head Coach Kyle Shanahan Press Conference

Head Coach Kyle Shanahan

Press Conference – May 29, 2025

San Francisco 49ers

When you have guys sign as early as they did with TE George Kittle, QB Brock Purdy and LB Fred Warner, what kind of impact does that have on the team in general and just in these OTAs?

“It just allows that position to be out there. I don’t think there’s a big impact necessarily on the team. It’s good to have those guys here every single day and not have to be going through contract stuff.”

Brock mentioned that there’s kind of a re-energized feeling around the building you know, just guys, maybe it’s younger guys or whatever it is. Do you feel that? Do you sense a little bit of a reset kind of emotionally maybe for this team?

“Oh yeah, definitely. It could be for a number of reasons, but there’s been a lot more turnover this year than in probably the last six or seven years. But also, I think this is the first time we got a long break too. The year before last year coming off the ‘23 season was one of the shorter breaks that we’ve had, having that tough loss in the Super Bowl and coming back really just like six weeks later. It’s never fun to have January off, but those extra five weeks add up a lot and I think guys were itching to get back this time, excited to get back, ready to go for the first day and it’s been a lot more fun that way.”

Are things on the practice field just moving a little quicker?

“Yeah, I think we got five good weeks in before these two practices. And a majority of our guys have been here every single day. It’s been a great turnout and the energy’s been good. I think it’s definitely carried over into practice these two days.”

How encouraging is it to see RB Christian McCaffrey back there running well and just how do you monitor him through the summer?

“Christian is as ready as any player I’ve ever been around. When he gets hurt, he’s got to rehab and get better. Right now he’s healthy as can be. We’ve got to kind of protect him from himself, but Christian has a good idea of what he needs to do right now. He’s doing a lot less than he normally would do, but I know he is excited on how healthy he feels and the fact that he can get out there.”

You guys got all the contracts squared away and now everybody’s here. Do you feel a difference on the field and just the vibes amongst the team because you got your guys here, Fred and Kittle, you don’t have to worry about any holdouts or anything like that? Then also the fact that they’re here as leadership for so many young guys that have been kind of infused into the team.

“Yeah, I know we had a number of contract holdouts last year and I think we’ve had a couple before that. But we’ve always had a real good turnout for OTAs and for our offseason. We’re a team that usually have like one or two maybe with contracts and one or two who got other stuff going on. But I think our attendance has always been real good. The contract stuff gets made a big deal. It’s always annoying when it goes into camp and especially when you’re going into a first week and stuff like that, but that’s not something that really affects the team right now. It’s cool that we don’t have any of those on the horizon though, so, there’ll be no hiccups in the future.”

Has T Trent Williams been around for any of these sessions?

“Yeah, he’s been around. He was here at the beginning of Phase One, hasn’t been here in a couple weeks, but expect to see him soon.”

WR Ricky Pearsall?

“Ricky’s here. Ricky’s been awesome, but Ricky has a tweaked hamstring, so I’ll be surprised if he does anything in OTAs.”

Do you think he’ll be back for minicamp or out?

“I know he could be, but by the time you get to minicamp and there’s just two days left in school, we probably won’t just throw him out there, but he should be healthy by then.”

What about S Marques Sigle and DL Alfred Collins? How long will they be out and what Collins had the calf, what’s Sigle’s issue?

“I forget what it was, but it was something we both knew about. We knew that Sigle wouldn’t be ready until training camp. Collins, he had that before the Draft. He redid it in his Pro Day and he’s week-to-week right now.”

How does it feel to be out there with defensive coordinator Robert Saleh? Does it feel seamless like he never left?

“Yeah, it’s awesome having Saleh back. Everyone’s familiar with him here. It’s funny how few people are left. You get to see how much change and turnover there is. But there’s guys like [TE Ross] Dwelley and like [WR] Trent Taylor who were here with Saleh earlier, left and then they kind of came back at the same time he did. So they felt like he’s been here the whole time. But it’s been good having him back. It’s nice hearing his voice in there, how he sees defense now, how he sees the NFL now. Things evolve all the time. He is still the same guy and what he believes in. But it’s cool to hear how he has evolved in his last few years.”

Because he’s been head coach, do you kind of expect him to do different things or behave in any other way than he had when he was here before the first time?

“No, not at all. Maybe he’s more understanding [laughter].”

He doesn’t get on you as much?

“I don’t have to get on him as much [laughter]. He knows. No, because it’s funny when you hear stories of, ‘oh, now I get why you were so frustrated with me in this instance because I thought you were being kind of a jerk about it.’ He goes, ‘but I was twice as mean to my guy the last two years on it.’ So you start to learn those things as you go through them and it kind of makes it a little more fun.”

You made a change at punter. Is that you gave your special teams coach kind of the decision on that or how did that work out?

“Well, I mean he definitely has the most expertise in the building. So I always whoever has the most expertise, it’s something I’ll always lean towards that guy the most. But it’s got to make sense. We’ve all got to agree with it. And it was really hard to cut ties with [P] Mitch [Wishnowsky]. I love Mitch. He’s one of my favorite guys I’ve been around, especially from a special team standpoint and punter standpoint. He’s such a football player in how he plays. The guys love him. But when you just look into contract situations, how last year went and things, the fact that [P Thomas] Morstead became available, [special teams coordinator] Brant [Boyer] being so familiar with him and having that relationship it ended up making it a decision that wasn’t easy but we felt all confident it was best for our team.”

Is there concern with Mitch’s back at this point?

“He is healthy. So, he’s going to go to a team and help a team out a lot. But those are things you’ve always got to predict. You don’t know how those things go and you’ve got to take the risk-reward and something that to me wasn’t a big risk or worth the risk until someone like Morstead becomes available. And that put us on where we needed to make a decision.”

QB Mac Jones’ has been practicing for a few weeks. What has sort of stood out about him and what are your impressions of him so far?

“We’ve only been on the field two days, but he’s been great going through the meetings those first two weeks in Phase One, just going through all the cutups talking about some of his stuff he’s done over the last few years, just being able to coach him on that. We spent three weeks on technique, which everyone’s technique’s a little bit similar, but it’s also different. And to watch him go through those three weeks working on some technique things and stuff and just how we see football and I’m hoping it leads him to help him and he enjoys it. But he’s had two days to kind of practice it versus the defense and I think he’s had two real good days and we’ll see how the rest goes.”

What do you want to see out of your offensive line group? What excites you about your O-Line group? What do you want to see from them this offseason?

“I want to see them here working. It’s a little harder in these OTAs, we have the option of 12 practices. We usually probably only use about eight of them. But we’re trying to get them in there as much as possible. They’ve been doing individual drills for three weeks now because that’s what they’re allowed to do in Phase Two. Phase Three started and we’re trying to ease them in a little bit, but I want to see them learn the offense, be able to come off the ball at the same time, be able to work in combinations together and then let them get away for 40 days and come back ready to go.”

WR Jacob Cowing made a couple plays today. Why do receivers coming out of college typically struggle maybe more so than some other positions?

“I think the league’s a little different. I think defenses are a lot tougher in the NFL just from a secondary standpoint, a pass rush standpoint, a preparation standpoint. I think receivers in college you can get away with just going fast and being a little bit sloppy just if you have the skillset. I think when it’s like that in the NFL, you can’t get away with it. So guys got to learn a bit, a lot more the timing, whatever their offense is, how to play within it and still use their ability. How to break a huddle, hear a long play call, line up, move, come off the ball, do all that stuff and then think of the nuances of coverages and routes you’ve never ran before and catch the ball and get up the field. But at the same time, sometimes that’s the first time anyone’s heard a play call. The majority of these guys just sit outside the numbers and look to their buddy on the sideline and signals their route. They run their route, they come back, they tell them they can take the next play off because the ball’s going to the other side of the field. So they kind of just jog and conserve their energy and it’s just a little bit different. But when you’re on a team like that, it’s the same for O-Lineman too. So, to me it’s adjustment for everybody.”

TE Luke Farrell doesn’t, I mean, he’s probably not on anyone’s fantasy football team, but you know, he has actually real world, NFL value. What is that value? You know, not just you seeing him but for a blocking tight end in the NFL, he’s not the only guy that you know, he’s got a decent contract.

“Yeah, I think a number two tight end in the NFL is huge. I think, I mean there’s lots of different ways that you can be a one or a two. Usually there’s one guy who excels in the pass game and usually there’s one guy who excels in the run game. Our situation’s a little bit different because [TE] George Kittle I think is a Hall of Fame pass game guy and run game guy. So, he’s a huge part of the offense. Also we have a running back that goes out on routes a lot and so you’ve got to decide who you want to stay in and block sometimes and you don’t want to leave George in too much to block because of how good he is in the pass game, but that means you’ve got to keep Christian in to block. So you’ve kind of got to pick that. It’s nice when you can have a tight end who is a good blocker not only in the run game but also in protection. So, he could come in and he could block a nine technique where George and Christian could both be on routes. That’s something I thought we had a lot with [Atlanta Falcons TE] Charlie Woerner which that’s why when you talk about contracts and money and stuff, I mean, you know, that’s what Charlie signed with Atlanta for. So that’s about the price of a really good number two tight end, whether it’s your number one’s a huge blocker and your number two is just a pass game guy. Kind of see that as a glorified receiver. But when you’ve got a guy who can do both, it’s very valuable.”

You’ve mentioned with QB Brock Purdy, one thing you love about him is he’s the same every day. This is the first time he’s gone through such a life changing kind of contract negotiations. What were your observations of the day to day of how he kind of handled that throughout the process?

“This probably weirds you guys out, but the exact same he does everything else. I mean, I was on vacation, we were out of town. And so, I called him from a boat on Saturday or Sunday, whenever that was just to congratulate him and we just messed around with each other for a couple minutes and I haven’t talked to him about it since. So, when I see him in person, it’s not something we think about. It was just that day, it was congratulations and you know, Brock, he’s been the same since day one and I think that’s, you like to say that about a lot of people and we’re never lying up here or anything, but Brock is as much like that as not any football player I’ve met, but any person I’ve met.”

Have any of the younger faces, younger guys or new faces left an impression on you already so far in the activity that you guys have had so far?

“Yeah, I want to, not anyone to single out. I just love the group. You always want to know about the rookie class and how they come in and these guys came in, they came in a week ahead of schedule because just the way the NFL calendar works this year, so they were able to be with us for two weeks in the offseason, I mean in phase two before OTAs, which is a week more than usual, so they got to spend a week going in all the drills with our guys. They got to spend a week doing some Navy SEAL stuff that we just did as a team and to watch those guys kind of jumping in those two weeks before really playing football. I know we’ve got some workers, I know we’ve got guys who really love football. You haven’t had to call, I haven’t had to call one rookie in and be like, ‘dude, this is your full-time job, this is how you act.’ All these guys seem like they already know that. And that’s the first thing we’re looking for.”

Now that he’s signed the big deal. Do you want him to be more of a vocal leader and does he need to be more of a vocal leader?

“I want him to be the leader he’s always been. There’s no worse thing to do than ask people to do something extra just because they’re a contract. You know, that’s when you start making stuff up. Brock’s earned his contract and he’s going to earn what he gets going forward.”

What was the Navy SEAL training?

“We had the SEALs come in for four days, which we’ve done in the past. This was I think the third time we’ve done it here in our nine years and just come in and give some classroom work. We do an activity, a kind of paintball type thing, it wasn’t paintballs though. It’s just Navy SEAL stuff.”

At the end of last season, you said that you had felt the vibes, I don’t think you used the word vibes, but it felt that things were off from training camp on. And I’m just wondering is it too early to know if you feel different and also did you do something specifically Navy SEALs or anything else to kind of address that in that kind of intangible kind of vibe?

“I think the way I addressed it the most was in our last meeting in January. I just told the guys, I talked about how the season ended the year before and how when I felt them all come back, I felt guys weren’t ready to come back. And I understood that. But I told them how I won’t really understand it this year. Not that that was right or wrong, but I couldn’t comprehend it, we’re off five weeks earlier. We all know how disappointed we are and a lot of us have played a lot of football here. But we’re going to have a team that doesn’t know what we’ve done in the past or how you guys have earned a lot of stuff, we need to show them. And the first meeting when we get back, I expect our whole team to be here, and it be important to guys. And I thought the coolest thing was everyone being there on the first day. We had every guy show up and I didn’t have to call anyone and beg them, which said a lot. They all knew what I said on the last day and I wanted to see if they really meant something to them, not to where I had to call them and remind them and I didn’t. And they all showed up and they’ve all been working and to me that’s something I really appreciated and know I got the right guys.”

Is that the sense this offseason, that Brock has been a more vocal leader? I’m curious if you noticed that or in any way that you know, maybe he’s been louder with the guys or anything like that?

“No, I haven’t noticed.”

Where were S Ji’Ayir Brown and DL Yetur Gross-Matos?

“Yeah, Ji’Ayir got something done to his ankle. He had a procedure done to his ankle, so he won’t be ready until training camp. And who else?”

Yetur.
“And Yetur has a personal day. He’s got a little one on the way, so, I should be able to announce that he had one last night.”

The day that everybody showed up, was that April 22, the start of the offseason program?
“I don’t know what the date is today, man.”

But it was the offseason program?

“Yeah, yeah. The day they’re allowed to come.”