Kyle Shanahan - HC, 49ers Event: Press Conference | Date: 2026-09-06 | Full transcript (primary source).
Kyle Shanahan, HC of the 49ers, addressed the media during a press conference on September 6, 2026, providing updates on the team's current state as they prepare for the upcoming season. The conference included discussions about player injuries and the team's adjustment to their new environment.
Transcript
Shanahan: So guys go ahead. It's been cool. I mean it took a couple days to adjust but feeling real good today. You know, it's most of the city I've seen out my window. I got to go on one walk. It's a little different for coaches. We're in the season so we're not out much but players had it yesterday off. So I know they got out a little bit and they spoken very highly of everything.
Shanahan: Because we're technically in the future from where we're from and the Rams are in the present. I don't talk about injuries till tomorrow so I'm not talking about it. It was an ankle injury. I don't ask more questions than that. It was an ankle. He had a plate in his foot a while ago and on our bonus practice on the day we came just stepped on it and it broke so he's gonna have to get surgery. It's a bad injury. Hopefully we can get him back later in the year. But I was a real tough loss, hurt for Sam, hurt for our team.
Shanahan: But hopefully we can take care of business and you can come back later in the year. Yeah, each guy's different. I mean some guys feel good and feel great and then you talk to them five hours later they're like never mind that. Some guys started off bad and feel good later. You know for me, I feel my most normal today. It's how many ever days I think it's the third day. But I'm doing good. I think most of the guys are doing real good too.
Shanahan: Thank you, man. The message to the players over the weekend is it mostly just about prioritizing recovering all the dream cars to get out see the city? No, I'm not. I don't encourage that much, nothing against the city. It's looked awesome. The people have been around seemed really cool. Definitely makes me want to think about coming back and visit with my family.
Shanahan: But just we get 17 games. That's all that's allowed to us. We play once a week. So we're really all about business right now. You know, the players did get an off day so I think it was cool for them to get a, you know, walk around. I think a number went out to dinner and stuff like that. So they've been able to enjoy it a little bit. But it's just a little bit harder the way we do stuff in a work week and a little jealous. So just watching people out the window. I wish I could get out more. I know they did too.
Shanahan: But my message then was enjoy your one day. Everything is about being getting hydrated, getting used to the time difference. And now I feel like we finally done that and we're ready for a real good practice today.
Shanahan: I didn't see it at all. I was, I tried my hardest to make it up to that time and hey, it's really hard to be awake after eight. So I fell asleep, but the guys said it was real cool. I got to see pictures of some film from the stadium and looked like an awesome atmosphere. I didn't get to see much of the game but the coolest part is how they do scores, how they do like this so like that. That's cooler. It looks like a six-shooter. So I wish we did that.
Shanahan: I think it looks cool. I mean each is different. There might not be as many hitting opportunities, but it's fun to watch guys play without pads. I mean you got to do it a little bit differently. Sometimes it could be more painful, sometimes it could be less because of the impact of helmets and things like that. But we've been playing tackle football without pads growing up our whole life, you know, at recess and stuff and so we have an idea of that stuff.
Shanahan: But it's definitely different. I mean not comparing us to them, but yeah, I was glad. I mean, I know I felt the last couple two days. So it's a little different for a coach, you know, toughen through how you use your mind for three and a half hours a little bit different than your body. But yeah, I'm glad that we've been out here because we feel real good today.
Shanahan: Sorry, what's that? Oh, yeah, definitely it was tough. That's so I hate to have to make that decision so I just went with the biggest guys, the starters and the line of D line and there's a few remainder. So I gave it to the seniority, but no one came in complained about it to me. So hopefully I succeeded as well as I could.
Shanahan: I mean when I said, I mean that was nothing against Australia or anything. That's just about competition and how important our 17 games are and it's cool for us. Just we always have an advantage of getting having one. I see it as one home game a year in LA. It's just the way our fans are and take over that stadium. So it was disappointing to let them off the hook and I'll get them out of that.
Shanahan: But I have a feeling our knowing how our fans roll, I have a feeling they won't be much different here. I expect to have a good showing and I want to say it hit me right on the plane. But after being here for a couple days like it's the right time to be here, it's the right place to be and it's the right team to go against.
Shanahan: A little it made me jealous. I mean when you have five preseason games back in the day and you get to go to Australia for a week and it's one of five games. I wanted to say that it's the hardest work week like it is in week one of the season. So, I mean that would be a perfect time to come over here and be able to see the city and enjoy stuff, play a little football. But there's a very huge difference between week one in the preseason.
Shanahan: Same as last year. Yeah, no, they didn't. Some of them did but not all of them. I haven't picked up on it. I actually, I struggle with accents. I'm not that good at hearing it. But it's actually closed. I went to France earlier this offseason and I really struggle with English in a French accent. I do it better with English and Australian accents. I've understood people much better.
Shanahan: But I haven't been out about enough. I mean I got a feeling it's good like I haven't been out that much but from what I've seen what I've heard it sounds pretty cool. We get pretty good support around the world. Everywhere that we go when we travel in the US our fans travel better to me than any other team. This is a little bit farther for them. So but I still have a feeling a lot of guys are traveling out here from the Bay and just driving in on the bus and stuff. I've seen a lot more Niner jerseys.
Shanahan: No, just because we used it too, I mean and we they're totally normal routine. I'm not sure because we're like I said, we're a little confused with when I look at my clock and it says the time and then I try to see my family's time and it says the time but it says yesterday. I don't even get how that's possible. So I feel like I'm in the future and then also when we play on our Friday which I thinks that Thursday in the US we're such creatures of habit.
Shanahan: So I call today Tuesday. No wait, sorry call today Wednesday which is the first day we put in a game plan, but I think it's Monday. However, though it's Sunday in the present. So like I'm gonna mess that up all week if you guys ask me. But today is just our first day of the game plan, which is a Wednesday and we'll put in some on a Thursday. Friday's the final part of the game plan. Saturday we walk in when we play on Sunday, which is a Friday in Australia and a Thursday in the US. So don't ever make me do that again.
Shanahan: Yeah, I'm really excited to get this going. I mean I really love our team. You know, we've got a month together here in the preseason to kind of work at it. You know a lot of guys were banged up. We missed a lot of guys throughout the preseason but I feel we got most of our guys back this weekend. I'm ready to get this started, you know, it's a fun first game. I love all the new additions. I'm excited to see how we play. I expect us to play a certain way and I expect to build on this team throughout the year.
Shanahan: I haven't been over to the main stadium yet. So I just saw it on some videos because the guys went for the not rugby the footy game. Sorry, all right the footy game and it looked big. I think it'll be different the field so much bigger. So I'm curious. I know if it's a hundred thousand I'm curious how different will be because the football field smaller. So how far the fans will be from us. That's more for them than us, but I'm excited to play in the stadium that can fit a hundred thousand.
Shanahan: There any sort of problem with I guess that presents with you know playing obviously it's a rectangle I feel that you play on that you're playing on an oval check. As long as hopefully they have chalk here and they put the white lines for us as long as that white line is a rectangle we should be alright.
Shanahan: People always talk about you know when we watch football as you know, the people are in it. We never get to watch it with announcers and everything we turn on a very much more boring tape that has it's dead silent. And I always talk about I want to be able to see who the game means more, who plays with higher character. I'm on the silent tape. You don't hear anything. You don't hear talking, you don't hear the hits but you can see it and I want us to play a certain way. That's the way that I've expected us to play for the last 10 years and I expect it to be even stronger on Friday.
Shanahan: Now they were doing snaps for 17 straight hours. No, that was just luck. Yeah, it's week one so you never know what happens in a season. I mean each year everything changes. But I mean, I think it's two organizations, two teams player wise, coaching wise, front office wise I'm gonna have a ton of respect for the Rams and I believe they had the same for us. It's always a battle when we go against them.
Shanahan: It's not a lot of love for each other because of how much we have to compete versus each other. But it's two first-class organizations who will put on a good show.
Shanahan: Kyle, Aaron Donald practice today. I'm sure there's an emotion of relief when a guy like that retires. What was the emotion when you learn? The opposite. Memory retired. There that I could I didn't see the alerts and stuff. I heard people yelling down the hallway cheering. It's like what the hell's going on and then I got it on my phone and it was probably most we've celebrated in the offseason ever.
Shanahan: And then it was the exact opposite this year so I mean, I know people have been I wasn't like crushed on the Sunday that he decided because I decided a month ago was happening. I'm sorry prepared for that the right way and it is what it is. He's a hell of a player and we'll have a work cut out for him.
Shanahan: Yeah, definitely. I mean, I believe so. Those are things that are I definitely don't focus on but that those are the huge challenges of this stuff. I don't probably should ask someone else more so I don't mess up the details. But getting his passport, getting it from his family or I think the Falcons may have had it because I think they're going somewhere later. So it was tough to get that and get them all set up.
Shanahan: But we got a good logistics team, wrist and slap are the best and they figured it out because he's here. I'm pretty lame when it comes to stuff because I really haven't been outside the building for more than like probably the 30-minute walk.
Shanahan: Yeah, that I don't see kangaroos and crocodiles everywhere. I was expecting to see that and it looks like a very normal cool city. I think they're excited. I think they're ready to go. I mean just today was our first team meeting for our game plan week and just feeling the energy in there. It's always hard when you think about the travel and all the stuff that goes into it.
Shanahan: But once you get there you get your feet on the ground and you get used to where we're at. We love being the only game on supposed to be it on a Sunday where there's a lot of games playing and it's really cool to be out here, and I think our guys are pretty jacked.