Deommodore Lenoir hilariously admitted at Wednesday night’s Dwight Clark Legacy Series event that he went without speaking to 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan for a year.

“I didn’t talk to him for about a year because I was so nervous,” the cornerback said. “I didn’t want to upset him.”

But how did Lenoir, the 2025 Dwight Clark Award winner, find himself in this situation? Leave it to no other than last year’s award winner, George Kittle, to explain in front of the eager crowd in San Jose.

“I called Coach Shanahan on my drive over and asked him, and he gave me two stories,” Kittle prefaced about searching for “good teammate” stories regarding Lenoir leading up to the event. “One was he’s always loved how DMo plays football and how aggressive he is. He really remembered the time in rookie minicamp when DMo jammed a guy at the line of scrimmage, and you’re not supposed to put hands on each other.

“And he (Lenoir) posted a video about it and got Kyle fined $100,000. That was one story.”

That sure was a story.

Lenoir not only violated league protocol but also posted the evidence to social media, earning Shanahan a hefty fine. That is one way for a rookie – which Lenoir was in 2021 – to humorously earn a coach’s attention.

Fortunately, Kittle had another, much calmer story to relay from Shanahan about Lenoir.

“The other one, which I completely agree with, is just how DMo is every single day,” Kittle said on behalf of Shanahan. “Nobody has to hype him up. He brings 100-percent effort, he brings 100-percent energy, every single day. And when you have someone that does that and loves their craft and also loves the game of football, it brings everyone around them along the way with them.

“So all the [defensive backs], young guys, the D-line, when you go out and see DMo hitting people, getting interceptions, talking smack to guys, that energy is infectious, and everybody wants to bring that energy just like DMo does. He’s an inspiration to a bunch of guys on the team; he’s an inspiration to a lot of guys that watch him, many of the fans who watch him. [He’s] just such a great teammate, leading by example. This guy is one of the best to do it. So congratulations, DMo.”

Lenoir is a leader who doesn’t need any motivation – just look at his 265 career tackles and six interceptions over four seasons for proof.

But the 2025 Dwight Clark Award winner still is human, as reflected by his hilarious fear and silence toward Shanahan for an entire year.

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