Kyle Shanahan’s Week 1 Status Revealed After Car Accident: What It Means for the 49ers
Kyle Shanahan will coach in Week 1. That was in doubt for about 72 hours.
The 49ers head coach was involved in a serious car accident on July 14 that left him with fractured ribs and a mild concussion. The team announced he would have reduced duties at the start of training camp, and reports out of Santa Clara suggested he might not be on the sideline when the 49ers open the season against the Rams.
That fear is now gone. Shanahan is on track to be fully cleared by the end of the preseason. He is running practices, calling plays in team drills, and looking like the same Shanahan who has run the 49ers offense for eight seasons.
Why This Matters More Than It Should
Shanahan calls his own plays. He has since he took over in 2017. When he is not on the sideline, the 49ers offense drops off a cliff.
You saw it two years ago when he had a minor procedure and Brian Griese called plays for one preseason game. It was a disaster. The rhythm was gone. The play calls were slow. The offense looked like it had been coached by someone reading a script for the first time.
The 49ers were not going to let that happen in Week 1 against the Rams. Missing Shanahan for a divisional game would have cost them the season, and everyone on Levi’s Stadium knows it.
The Bigger Concern
Shanahan is back, but he is not going to be at 100 percent for a while. Fractured ribs take four to six weeks to heal. He will be in pain when he yells. He will be exhausted after long practices.
That is why the 49ers pushed the reduced-duties plan hard in the first week of camp. Give him time to heal. Let Klay Kubiak, his son and offensive assistant, run some of the install. Get to Week 1 with a healthy head coach.
What This Means for the Roster
The 49ers are in a bounce-back year. Last season was a disaster. Christian McCaffrey missed almost the whole season. Brock Purdy was inconsistent. The defense collapsed after Nick Bosa got hurt.
Everyone is healthy now. McCaffrey looked great in the offseason. Purdy is entering the third year of his mega deal and looks locked in. Bosa is coming off a full offseason for the first time in three years.
If Shanahan is on the sideline calling plays in Week 1, the 49ers are a legitimate NFC contender. If he had missed even one game, the West would have belonged to the Rams and Seahawks by Halloween.
The Fans Can Breathe
This has been the most stressful three weeks of the 49ers offseason. First the coach gets in a car accident. Then the ownership starts fielding awkward questions about succession planning. Then rumors swirl that Shanahan might miss the start of the season.
All of it is over. He is coaching. He is calling plays. He is going to be on the Levi’s Stadium sideline in Week 1 with a headset on, screaming at Deebo Samuel replacement Ricky Pearsall to run the right route.
That is the 49ers Sunday everyone in the Bay Area wanted to see. Now they get it.
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.
