{"id":45857,"date":"2025-04-01T15:03:41","date_gmt":"2025-04-01T15:03:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=45857"},"modified":"2025-04-01T15:03:41","modified_gmt":"2025-04-01T15:03:41","slug":"top-takeaways-from-49ers-coach-kyle-shanahans-first-public-comments-since-january","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=45857","title":{"rendered":"Top takeaways from 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan\u2019s first public comments since January"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Kyle Shanahan has kept a low profile for three months, since his 49ers were dethroned as NFC champions with a 6-11 record and last-place finish.<\/p>\n

Tuesday morning, he emerged at the NFL\u2019s annual owners meetings in Palm Beach, Florida for a state-of-the-franchise summary.<\/p>\n

Most fascinating: His explanation about the 49ers\u2019 peculiar pursuit of Dre Greenlaw. which failed to prevent him from leaving for the Denver Broncos.<\/p>\n

Most encouraging: Christian McCaffrey is \u201chealthy and doing great.\u201d<\/p>\n

Most obvious: Kicker Jake Moody faces competition with a yet-to-be-named veteran.<\/p>\n

Most likely to be on a 2025 bumper sticker: \u201cIt\u2019s not like we cleaned everybody out. We still have big-time players.\u201d<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s the best of what Shanahan said and how to interpret his comments from his media session, which followed general manager John Lynch\u2019s Monday:<\/p>\n

FREE AGENCY PURGE<\/strong><\/p>\n

The 49ers have lost eight starters and 19 total players in free agency. Shanahan is reluctantly on board with this offseason\u2019s budget-conscious \u201crecalibration\u201d because it\u2019s the nature of the NFL, as he sees it. \u201cI anticipated it. I\u2019ve known it\u2019s coming for a while,\u201d Shanahan said. \u201cBut no matter what you\u2019re anticipating or ready for, it\u2019s still not very much fun going through it. A lot of guys you care about, a lot of good players go, but it\u2019s part of this business. It happens to everyone at some time and it\u2019s just where we\u2019re at right now.\u201d<\/p>\n

Shanahan agreed that the 2023 Los Angeles Rams and the 2024 Buffalo Bills offered blueprints for quickly succeeding after roster turnover. And he doesn\u2019t pretend to be a bystander. \u201cI\u2019m a part of it all. It\u2019s not like you\u2019re sitting down there and just coaching and blowing a whistle. You understand how the salary cap works to a degree. \u2026 You can\u2019t always just swing for the fence. If you do, it\u2019s going to balance out over the years and that\u2019s why the NFL is a pretty balanced league.\u201d<\/p>\n

FLYING TO GREENLAW<\/strong><\/p>\n

For the first time in nine years together, Shanahan and general manager John Lynch took a recruiting trip for one of their own free agents. Their flight to Texas went in vain three weeks ago: Greenlaw did not decommit from his three-year, $31.5 million deal with the Broncos, where he\u2019ll be thrust into the middle linebacker role he couldn\u2019t have with Fred Warner as his 49ers teammate.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe would have done that in the past if it came down to it, but when you\u2019re going through the recruiting part, when he\u2019s committed to someone else, we wanted to see Dre face-to-face. He happened to live in Texas, so it was a little farther and we couldn\u2019t just meet him at our facility. John and I wanted to fly down and talk to him and give ourselves one last chance.\u201d<\/p>\n

Not only did the Broncos poach Greenlaw but they also signed 2022 All-Pro safety Talanoa Hufanga, or as Shanahan said: \u201cTwo of my favorite guys to work with in my career.\u201d<\/p>\n

RUNNING BACK DEPTH<\/strong><\/p>\n

Christian McCaffrey is returning to full health after an injury-marred 2023, but that won\u2019t stop the 49ers from an annual search for running back depth in the draft. \u201cOf course we\u2019re set with McCaffrey but every single year we\u2019ve gone through this \u2014 except two years (2022, \u201923) \u2014 we\u2019ve gone through four running backs. Most teams do,\u201d Shanahan said. \u201cYou always have to be prepared for that. But Christian is healthy and doing great. We have Isaac (Guerendo) in there working. Was pumped to get Patrick (Taylor) back. We\u2019ll see if we add someone in the draft but you\u2019d like to have one every year.\u201d<\/p>\n

While Shanahan noted that financial constraints prompted the 49ers to trade 2024 rushing leader Jordan Mason to Minnesota, Guerendo \u201cran harder as the year went, which is a good sign.\u201d<\/p>\n

ON KICKING COMPETITION<\/strong><\/p>\n

A yet-to-be-named veteran kicker is expected to sign after the draft to compete with Jake Moody, who\u2019s had a rocky two-year tenure. \u201cWhen you\u2019re job is on the line, going against someone who\u2019s talented, you do feel that pressure,\u201d Sha nahan said. \u201cI do believe if you can overcome that and beat out a capable guy, that will show us he\u2019s capable for the season.\u201d<\/p>\n

Moody\u2019s sophomore slump saw him miss 9-of-20 field-goal attempts (and a point-after kick) upon returning from a lower-leg injury that sidelined him three games in October. A 2023 third-round pick, Moody struggled late in his rookie season, then opened 2024 by making 12-of-13 field-goal attempts. Then he sprained his lower right (kicking) leg while attempting a tackle on kickoff coverage in Week 5.<\/p>\n

BROCK PURDY STATUS<\/strong><\/p>\n

Shanahan was halfway through his 30-minute roundtable before a reporter asked about Brock Purdy. Could the fourth-year quarterback hold out of offseason workouts until he lands a team-record contract extension?<\/p>\n

\u201cI hope not. I know Brock doesn\u2019t want to do that. We don\u2019t want to do that. No one wants to do that,\u201d Shanahan said. \u201cBut these are negotiations that go on between agents and our organization and it\u2019s over a lot of money. Those aren\u2019t things you just knock out right away. But I believe we will and hope we will, and hopefully it won\u2019t come into any football stuff.\u201d<\/p>\n

JONES\u2019 DELAYED ARRIVAL<\/strong><\/p>\n

Four years after bypassing Mac Jones to draft Trey Lance at No. 3 overall, Shanahan is excited to work with Jones as Purdy\u2019s backup adding that he long ago talked with Jones about the 49ers\u2019 draft maneuver that ultimately backfired. Said Shanahan: \u201cIt\u2019s kind of funny to put all that time into him for the draft and wait five years later but having him on our team five years later, we\u2019re excited to get to work with him. I just loved how he played the position, especially in college. He got the ball to the right spot, didn\u2019t take sacks, would hang in there and get hit to distribute the ball to his playmakers.\u201d<\/p>\n

WIDE RECEIVER PLAN<\/strong><\/p>\n

Brandon Aiyuk\u2019s $23 million option bonus kicked in Tuesday, and Shanahan did not rule out the possibility his top wide receiver could return to the lineup from an October ACL tear as the season begins in September. Said Shanahan: \u201cThe goal is always early. You hope to have it right away. We\u2019re told by the doctor there\u2019s a chance but it\u2019s too early in the process. When we get to training camp, we\u2019ll see what it looks like.\u201d<\/p>\n

Demarcus Robinson, formerly of the Rams, adds not only insurance for Aiyuk but a physical and versatile presence, Shanahan said.<\/p>\n

As for trading Deebo Samuel to the Washington Commanders, Shanahan said: \u201cHe was a unique player who was really fun to have and someone I definitely didn\u2019t want to lose.\u201d<\/p>\n

TRENCH WARFARE<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cI do feel as though there\u2019ll be more competition for starting spots as there\u2019s been in a while, especially on defense,\u201d Shanahan said of the roster shakeup.<\/p>\n

This offseason\u2019s attrition is glaring on both the offensive and defensive lines, the latter of which Shanahan hopes to fortify with some of the 49ers\u2019 11 draft picks.<\/p>\n

Aaron Banks\u2019 departure at left guard is creating an open competition between Ben Bartch, Nick Zakelj and Matt Hennessy. One option to replace Jaylon Moore at swing tackle is to convert Spencer Burford from right guard, Shanahan confirmed.<\/p>\n

Shanahan said center Jake Brendel is not competing for the starting job he\u2019s held three straight seasons, adding that Brendel \u201cdoes protection as well as anybody in the league\u201d despite mismatches on the interior.<\/p>\n

COACHING STAFF MOVES<\/strong><\/p>\n

Four years after leaving to become the New York Jets coach, Robert Saleh is back as Shanahan\u2019s defensive coordinator and \u201cit feels like he never left. We have so many people in our building that were here when Saleh was here last time.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tight end coach Brian Fleury has assumed the title of run-game coordinator, which was held the previous two years by offensive line coach Chris Foerster. Shanahan named three new coordinators earlier this offseason: Robert Saleh (defense), Klay Kubiak (offense) and Brant Boyer (special teams). Whereas Kubiak\u2019s promotion from pass-game specialist puts him next in line to Shanahan\u2019s play-calling throne, Fleury has been a trusted asset in the run-game design for years and has been on staff since 2000.<\/p>\n

Check back for more on this developing story.<\/em><\/p>\n

Originally Published:

Kyle Shanahan, three months into the 49ers\u2019 offseason overhaul, met with reporters Tuesday morning at the NFL owners meetings in Palm Beach, Fla.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":45858,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-45857","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nfl"],"yoast_head":"\nTop takeaways from 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan\u2019s first public comments since January - NEWS USA<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=45857\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Top takeaways from 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan\u2019s first public comments since January - 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