Head Coach Kyle Shanahan Press Conference

Head Coach Kyle Shanahan

Press Conference – September 30, 2026

San Francisco 49ers

Opening comments:

“For practice today. All these guys won’t be practicing: [DL] James Thompson, [Jr.] ankle, [DL Nick] Bosa, calf, [WR] Mike Evans, ribs, [LB Dre] Greenlaw, quad, [T] Trent Williams, neck, [DL] Keion White, hamstring, [RB] Christian McCaffrey, vet day, [WR KhaDarel] Hodge, knee. And then limited will be [DL Romello] Height with hand and [DL] Mykel [Williams] with knee.”

Is Keion’s injury something that could keep him out?

“I hope not, but it’s hamstring and it’s keeping him out today.”

Tell me about the process of bringing WR Dante Pettis back to the practice squad?

“We tried to bring him into camp one time. Then, obviously Mike going down, losing some receivers the last few weeks, we needed to add a guy to practice squad and we were pumped he was available.”

You had some cornerbacks in as well. Were you able to do competitive situations? Can you do that in a tryout?

“No. I’m not sure. I wasn’t even out at the tryout. I’m sure they just did the typical routes on air.”

What’s the plan for Mykel and is there any update with RB Isaac Guerendo?

“No update on Isaac and Mykel’s just a mix him in today. Today will be his first day back in a year. Probably won’t go full speed today too, just with the amount of plays that we got on Sunday, but big first day for him just to get back in there.”

Dante’s a bit of a surprise just because of the way that the relationship ended in 2020. You guys looking to trade him and eventually releasing him. Have you guys kept up in the interim? How did you leave it in 2020 with him?

“Fine. There was no relationship issue. That was just how it worked out. I think people get confused sometimes with saying people are in the doghouse and things like that. People, I think, sometimes get that confused with just coaching. But, I’ve always loved Dante. Dante’s a great dude. He’s got a lot of ability. He’s done some really good things since we let him go, other places. Someone we tried to bring back during training camp when we had some guys down and tried again this time and this time it worked out.”

How has WR Brandin Cooks been as far as getting an understanding of the system? Is he taking a step towards possibly being out there?

“Brandin’s been awesome. Had an idea of that before he got here, just all the places he’d been and picked it up real fast last week and I’m sure it’ll only be easier this week.”

What jumps out about the Broncos defense to you besides a familiar safety in the backend?

“Just all their talent and all the stuff that [Denver Broncos defensive coordinator] Vance [Joseph] does. Vance, been around for a while, gone against Vance a bunch, and Vance is one of the toughest guys just because he can do anything, they can do front-wise, coverage-wise, pressure-wise and then when you mix in their corners, their safeties, how they are with their pass rush, whether they come with four or five and their linebackers, it’s not a surprise whether they were one of the best defenses in the league last year.”

It’s not often you see a guy like Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton, as accomplished as he is, give up play-calling duties. What have you seen with the new coordinator there and how hard would that be to do when you have that many pelts on the wall?

“I’m sure it’s hard, but sometimes I think it’s overrated. I guarantee, without me knowing, I guarantee Sean’s a big part of all of that on game day and during the week. It’s only been three games, so you can’t really tell yet. I mean, you can see over the course of the year, but sometimes I think that stuff’s made too big a deal about. I can’t tell you how much [offensive coordinator] Klay’s [Kubiak] involved in what we do and I call it so people give me the credit. But, if he was calling it, it wouldn’t be much different either. It has to do with the plan that you do in the week. Most of the situational stuff you guys already have an idea where you’re going and we all have a headset so you can chime in on a lot of stuff anytime. So, I think a lot of that stuff’s a little overrated.”

How encouraged were you by WR Jordan Watkins’ performance a few days ago?

“I was real encouraged. He got those two opportunities and I liked how he looked on both of those plays. Those are kind of the obvious ones, but throughout the rest of the game, the other stuff he did that people didn’t see, I was happy with how he played.”

Are you hopeful that Mike might be able to practice this week?

“Who’s that?”

Evans.

“He may. Not today. Hopefully later in the week.”

This would be a big game for Dre Greenlaw. How much do you have to neuter him and his excitement and being healthy as well to get back out there?

“I think the main thing is him just fully healing up to get out there. He’s not good enough for today, but hopefully he will be later in the week. And I mean, yeah, Dre’s going to be excited for this one, but it’s hard to say that Dre isn’t as excited as he could possibly be every single week he plays football. It’s hard to think that he can do more because he’s always ready to go.”

I’m not sure what you guys consider explosive plays, running plays, passing plays, but it seems like you’re getting more explosives this year. That was an issue last year. In your mind, what are you doing this year offensively that was hard to come by last year?

“I think we’ve just been better at it. It’s hard to say that it’s one thing. I think we probably have more on offense too than we did last year. Just me guessing without looking at it, but I wouldn’t say it’s because of one particular thing on offense either. I think our guys have done a real good job not giving up the big play. I think we’ve been much improved in the backend, just corner-wise, safety-wise, just with how on people we are and stuff. There’s been a little less space with some of the tighter coverages, but there isn’t one thing in particular, but they’ve done a good job not giving up big ones.”

I meant offensively, just the longer runs, things like that. You had a hard time getting explosive runs.

“We had a monkey on our back last year. It took us so long to get one, so that was frustrating. We had a couple opportunities for it and just had one guy off on a few. I feel like the opportunities we’ve had this year, the guys have been on. And when they haven’t, I thought the guys who’ve done it, whether it’s been Christian, I think he’s had a couple explosives. I think [RB] Kaelon [Black] has and so has [WR] Deebo [Samuel Sr.], so they’ve all done a good job making that guy miss or breaking some tackles.”

You’ve had so few negative-yard plays on offense. How does it help you as a play caller when you’re not in those?

“It helps you stay on track. It helps you be a little bit more balanced and things like that. Sometimes it’s a benefit, sometimes it’s not. I got on [OL] Colton [McKivitz] hard for jumping on the first play of the game, but his rebuttal is that led us to third-and-13 so we could call the lateral play. So sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. When you have too many negative plays, you get in second-and-long, which usually leads to third-and-long, it’s going to be very hard to be balanced.”

How do you assess defensive coordinator Raheem Morris and the job that he’s done? He’s simulating pressure, you guys are getting a lot of pressure and you gave up zero explosives on defense in 80 plays. How do you assess how he’s done these first three weeks?

“I think he’s done a great job. He’s been mixing it up in all three of these games. He’s had a ton of challenges, just with some of the guys he’s been missing, especially when you miss that many at one position, just being with the D-Line. He’s been awesome since the day he got here. He brings a lot of energy to the group and gets those guys to play the right way and I think he’s also done a hell of a job schematically.”

Your offensive line last year was one of the best at not giving up sacks. Does it surprise you that people look at the line this year and go, ‘Oh, those guys can’t protect,’ considering that they were doing it last year for two different quarterbacks?

“Yeah, the hate on our O-Line always surprises me, personally. I think they’ve done pretty good for a while. Right when they start getting too much credit, I want everyone to chill out too because I know what comes after that. But, our guys, I love our O-Line. I think they’ve been real consistent for a number of years and they’re playing really well right now.”

I understand what you said about Sean Payton, but there is some element of control when you are calling the plays on game day. Would you ever, like when you’re still here at 62, consider not calling the plays on game day?

“Yeah, definitely. I enjoy it a lot, so that would kind of be hard, but it gets made such a big deal about just this day and age. My dad called plays for a long time, and then him and [former NFL head coach] Gary [Kubiak] would switch it off all the time. Sometimes Gary would open the game and then he’d give it to my dad. Second quarter, they’d go back and forth. When I was in Houston, Gary and I did that a lot. Sometimes I would take it, sometimes he would take it. It’d go back and forth. The main thing is who talks to the quarterback. It takes a little bit longer when the guy talking to the quarterback isn’t the guy calling plays, so that’s kind of the negative of it and that’s what is hard about going back and forth. But yeah, if I felt that was the best thing for our team, I’d for sure do it.”

What would you do with your free time during the game?

“Chew seeds, look in the stands (laughter). No, I mean, you’d do the exact same stuff. Whether you’re calling the game or not, you’re going through it like you’re calling it. I can’t tell you how many times that I don’t have a play call ready and Klay spits something out. Because I’m the one who talks to the quarterback, I say it to the quarterback, but if Klay was saying it every single time, I’d have something on my mind thinking it. As a head coach, I could obviously override him and say it, but you want the play caller to go with what they’re thinking because they’re trying to set stuff up. It’s part of the process of everybody. I’ve just seen it so many times in my career growing up, watching it, being a coach in other places, that it is a common thing or used to be of people switching it off at times, but now it just seems like it gets made such a big deal. I just watched the game a little bit on Monday night, the second half, and I feel like that’s what they talk about every single play. Which I think sometimes that’s what I mean by it’s overrated. I don’t think the game would be called much differently if Klay did it, just because of the work we do together with the whole offensive staff throughout the whole week. Yeah, it comes down to a few things, and there are some different personalities in play calling and stuff like that, but the way you work in the week is, to me, the meat and potatoes of what’s going to make you successful on Sunday.”

You praised the offensive line, but what else is happening offensively, whether it be QB Brock Purdy’s processing or some of the things the skill guys are doing that’s leading to you guys not allowing a sack through the first three weeks?

“I think just as a group we’ve protected very well and that is the O-Line, but I’ve said it earlier, like just what the tight ends and backs and sometimes receivers have been doing with chip help. Sometimes chips, they don’t solve all your problems. It might give you a little extra time, but there’s two less guys on a route so it’s harder to get guys open so you hold onto it longer. We’ve done a good job mixing that stuff in. When we haven’t done that stuff, our five guys have held up well and when they haven’t, Brock’s done a good job getting rid of the ball which also means someone did a good job getting open fast. So, everything goes into it. If you’re ever doing good in protection, it’s never just the O-Line, just the quarterback or just the scheme. It’s a little bit of everything.”

Anytime there’s a controversial call, it always becomes an issue that gets talked about. This week it was defensive pass interference. What did you think about the experiment with challenging defensive pass interference years ago and what would you think about potentially it coming back?

“I thought it was good going into it then because I’m always, regardless of what happens, I just want them to get it right. You just want it done right, and especially if you can see it on TV. It sucks to have to live with the wrong way when you’re in the heat of battle on the field, which is what the challenge is for refs, challenge for everybody. So, I was excited when they made pass interference challengeable back then. Then after going through that year, I don’t think I ever want it back because it got too much and there was too much let them play, too much slow it down and see a little. It almost probably would be like challenging fouls in the NBA. It just gets a little hard, so probably not a fan of it anymore.”

You mentioned Brock getting rid of the ball quickly. His pocket movement has been a big part of sack avoidance and that zero being in that category?

“Yeah, all of the above. When the pocket isn’t there, do you get rid of it or can you create some time? And he’s done both. Sometimes when you sit there and create time, you don’t get your eyes downfield. You might make one miss, but then everyone else closes on you and you still end up taking a sack or a hit. Brock’s done both. You guys have all seen the plays he’s made scrambling, when guys do that too much, a lot of times they’re just skipping everything down the field. But, he hasn’t missed much down the field either, so he’s picking the right times to do it and he’s had a very natural ability of when to hang in there and take a shot and throw it and when to escape.”

Is his arm stronger than it was when he first came in the league? Is it noticeably stronger?

“Maybe. That’s hard to tell. I know last year his toe bothered him a lot, for a while. That’s why he missed so many games. Then when you do that and you’re not practicing as much and your arm gets a hair out of shape for that reason. So, I think possibly more than last year, but we’d have to test the miles per hour to know for sure.”

Do you feel like you’re in a flow right now as a play caller? It seems like your confidence is really high and your decisions are working.

“No, I feel the same as always. Just sometimes they work out more than others and sometimes you don’t call the best play and the players just make it look good. People like you say I’m in a flow, so my wife will take it, pump me up. I know once you start saying that, I know what next week looks like so I just always try to stay grounded with that. But, I feel the same as always.”