Opening comments:
"I can't remember all these, so I'll just read them off to you guys, and I apologize for being late. I just got all these. [WR] Pierre [Garçon], with his neck, this week he'll be questionable. [DB] Jimmie's [Ward] going on IR. [OL Garry] Gilliam is on IR. [DL] Solomon [Thomas] is going to be, most likely we're looking to try to get him back after the bye week. It should be about two to three weeks. [DL] D.J. [Jones], don't expect him this week. [CB] K'Waun [Williams], try to get him back on the field for some practice this week. I think there's an outside chance for him. [RB Matt] Breida will be questionable. He's got a mild MCL. [OL Brandon] Fusco will be the same as last week, try to get him out there to practice towards the end of the week. He'll be very limited, hopefully we'll get him by Sunday. And [T Joe] Staley just got back. Don't think we're going to have to IR, we're still looking into that, but definitely don't plan on having him until at least after the bye week."
Do you guys have to make a bunch of moves here, get bodies you can put in there at least for this week?
"Yeah, we're definitely going to have to make some moves, especially at the tackle position. We don't have those numbers on our team. So, over the next 24 hours, we're going to have to work on this to fill out our roster, decide on who can go on IR, to know what roster spots are open. And the guys that aren't on IR, decide who we'll have to let go to bring guys up, possibly to get some guys out there.
Do you have an update on T Trent Brown?
"I don't have an update on him. I know he was doing better over the weekend. Hopefully, he'll continue to progress this week. I really won't know for sure until Wednesday."
"That's a good question. I'll have an answer for that in the next 24 hours, but I don't have that right now."
With Ward going on Injured Reserve, is S Eric Reid staying put at linebacker or do you consider moving him back?
"We've still got a few options. Today we finished up all our stuff from yesterday. Just, to be honest with you guys right now, I'd be leaning towards getting him back to strong safety and getting [S Jaquiski] Tartt back there at free. We'll discuss it over the next 24 hours."
How long was this update with your medical staff? How long did you have to talk to go through all these guys?
"Took some time. It was more than I've had to deal with. There were a lot of guys to go through. And not all of it is clear-cut answers either. Got to talk and understand it as well as I possibly can. But, it's more just trying to get an idea for how long things are going to be because you've got to make the decision. When guys are hurt, that's the tough thing. You can't, they can't play when they're hurt. But, if they're not going to be out for a long period of time you can't also sign other guys to replace them. They still count on your active roster. So, trying to find out how serious some of the injuries are, how long they'll be out, guys like Joe and stuff like that, kind of limits what you can do until you know for sure whether you're going to have that roster spot."
Where are you with LB Reuben Foster right now?
With the issues you guys have on the offensive line, playing a rookie quarterback, how difficult is it for him?
"It's difficult for any quarterback, rookie or not. You've got so many guys on your roster and all those guys are banged up. I've got a lot of respect for some of the guys and how they handled it yesterday. By no means did, we were extremely disappointed with how the game went, but guys like [G Zane] Beadles and [OL Erik] Magnuson to come in and play positions they never played before and to help compete, guys like Fusco, who I know was struggling to stay in there to just continue to stay in there so we didn't have to put a tight end on the O-Line. They were guys that really showed it was important to them and they worked very hard and they gave us a chance to function and I appreciate them that for that."
No one is making excuses, but is that still one of the more bizarre games you've been through in terms of so many guys going down in prominent roles?
"It is for me personally. I haven't been through that before as a coordinator calling plays and things like that. It was a little different."
How involved are you in that okay now put this guy at left guard and now switching this guy in that position or the position coaches for making those decisions?
"We talk about it all, but I depend on the guys who do it 24/7 all year around, and that's our two O-Line coaches, that's their profession. It's not that I skipped O-Line, either. I watch the O-Line a lot too. We have discussions and stuff that you talk about all the time, and you've got to be prepared for every scenario going into a game. There's been a number of games that we prepared for this scenario. It's never actually come to it. It did last week. And you trust your guys. And you've got to put some of those people in spots that they haven't done before. But, we didn't have too many mistakes. You could tell the guys have covered it and they worked at it. We'll be prepared again if it happens again this week."
"I don't know. You'd have to ask God. I don't know the exact reasons it happens. You know, we've been on the road three out of the last four weeks, going against teams three out of the last four games against teams coming off bye weeks. I think we've been playing some competitive football games. And these last two haven't been that way. I think guys have been grinding. They've been battling. The more you do that, the more tired your body gets. It's not just us, it's the whole league. It's this time of year. And that's what I've dealt with every season. Sometimes your luck is worse than others. Right now it hasn't been too great. But, you've got to deal with it and you've got to embrace it and you've got to rise to the occasion."
How much is 0-8 weighing on you?
"Of course it wears on you. Nobody wants to be 0-8. We're here to win. And so it is tough. If you sit there and you think about those words and the record too much and, yeah, it will affect you big time, but sitting and dwelling on that and worrying about your ego and things like that, it's not going to make you play better. It's not going to make you coach better. So, you've got to check yourself once you start doing that. We need to get a win, and thinking about the past is not going to help us get a win. So, you've got to move on. We had some good meetings today. Players will hopefully rest their bodies tomorrow, and we'll come back Wednesday and keep working on how to get a win."
Obviously, when you took this job you knew it was going to be a process. Was this ever something that you entertained the possibility of, that it could be 0-8 or that it was going to be this low?
"I mean, every year as a coach you go into it knowing every year is a challenge. And I also go into every year pretty confident, too. And I go pretty much into every game confident. You're not always there on Monday. You're not always there on Tuesday. But, after a week of preparation after dealing with your players and stuff, I can't remember many Saturday nights or Sunday mornings that I haven't been very confident going into a game. Injuries are a part of it. You never know how they're going to be. I played against the 49ers last year at the end of the year, and I remember playing against them and there being a lot of guys that were playing because of injuries, too, when I faced them. Felt pretty good about some of the changes we had made and some of the stuff we added to the roster, went in pretty optimistic for this year. But, I do think some of the same injuries have happened again. I think our roster looks a little different than how it started and that's part of it. You want to keep adding, you want to keep adding to that depth. The teams, I've had years where you don't get anyone hurt and I've had years where it seems like you get everyone hurt. And you hope it doesn't happen every year. I know we're going through some stuff right now and hopefully we get that out of the way."
In regards to your decision with what you are doing at safety with Eric Reid and Jaquiski, is your belief in DB Adrian Colbert and what you think and his capability to do the job, does that factor into the decision?
Is CB Ahkello Witherspoon a starter now?
"Yes, I thought he played a pretty good game. He gave us a spark there, played good in his coverage, got us that interception, which I thought was a big play, and he gave up that go-route the next series, which wasn't good enough, but I think Ahkello can look from him. I think he showed some good things to get excited about and I hope he continues to get better."
Is it possible to evaluate QB C.J. Beathard really in a game where he was constantly under siege?
"Yeah, it's possible. You can evaluate a lot of things. I'm not going to sit there, I think it was tough for him to have a real good game. I think it would have been tough for anyone to. And I think there was stuff that he struggled with. There's a few things he missed, especially early. The first third down, I thought [RB] Carlos [Hyde] made a pretty good catch to catch that first one. I know the second one I thought Carlos should have caught. But, there were a couple of plays that C.J. missed, like a lot of guys do. But, I have a lot of respect of how he battled in that game. He took a beating. Like a lot of guys did. Didn't shy away from it. You can see it in the guys' eyes on the sideline when you talk to them, when you ask them what plays they want. I thought he got more aggressive as the game went, which some people would be the opposite. By no means was everything perfect, but I believe in the guy as a person. And he showed that."
What do you do as a coach to maybe prevent a guy from maybe feeling gun shy or shying away from contact or getting rid of the ball too quickly in circumstances like that?
"You've got to balance it out. You've got to try to give them some success. I think we caught a number of screens in that game. That's not necessarily to help him, it's more to take the pressure off some of the O-Linemen and things like that the way they were playing. But, I think that's why that position is so hard. You can try things as a coach. But, really that's up to the player. They've got to sit in there, they've got to handle a lot of that, and it's definitely not an easy job. That's why not many people can do it. And, I mean, I keep saying by no means was he, play great or anything, but he definitely shows any toughness. That gives him a chance to be successful."
"Yeah, I do. I think he gives us a chance to make some plays. I think when things aren't there, when protection breaks down, he has the ability to make plays with his legs. And I'm enjoying working with him. And I know we're going to go through some bumps in the road, but I do believe the more opportunities he gets out there, the better chance he has to improve and the more he improves the more our team will improve."
Do you know how many additional players you might have to add, three, four, something like that?
"I really don't. We're going to have to look at our practice squad, how many people we can get up. Possibly bringing [DL Ronald] Ronnie [Blair III] back, it's all going to depend on the number of IR people and how we balance our roster out. So, I don't know right now."
* Transcript provided by the San Francisco 49ers