No one will ever accuse Kyle Shanahan of slacking. The San Francisco 49ers head coach knows you can't be successful without hard work, and like most NFL head coaches, he is more than willing to put in the hours.
Shanahan was just one of several guests who Stephen J. Dubner spoke with for the latest Freakonomics Radio podcast. The episode, by the way, is an absolute must-listen for any 49ers fan. Dubner also spoke with team CEO Jed York, general manager John Lynch, president Al Guido, EVP of football operations Paraag Marathe, and VP of communications Bob Lange.
Then there are the players he spoke with — quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, tackle Joe Staley, fullback Kyle Juszczyk, linebacker Malcolm Smith, defensive lineman Solomon Thomas, and kicker Robbie Gould. It is a jam-packed show, which was recorded during the offseason.
Shanahan puts in the excessive hours so his players can be successful on the football field.
"I mean, it's okay if we're tired and we barely can function," he told Dubner. "We don't have to perform the play. It's us wearing our brains out all week to put our players in the best opportunity possible for them to be successful."
From the outside looking in, some may wonder how much work actually goes into being an NFL head coach. Why is the job so stressful? Shanahan broke down what his typical Mondays are like after a game.
"On a Monday, as a head coach, I need to watch the game for myself, which is offensive-side, defensive-side, special teams," he explained. "It's rewind, fast-forward, sideline copy, and there's three clips before we get past one play on one side of the ball. And I've got to watch it with the coaches. And then when that is done, I've got to get the whole team together, and I got to watch certain clips of the team from a head-coach standpoint. Anyways, it takes all Monday, all right, it takes all Monday. And now we've got to start watching Seattle, who we play the next Sunday."
And that's just Monday.
"During the season, Mondays, I'm usually in about 5:30 every day," Shanahan said. "I leave on a Monday at 11:00, on a Tuesday at midnight, on a Wednesday at midnight, on a Thursday at 9:30, and on Friday, I leave at 2:30. Friday is like my weekend, where I get home at about 3:30, and that's the night I kind of hang out with my kids. Saturday, I'm in at 5:30. We're usually traveling somewhere, or we have meetings and a walk-through. I go home for two hours, then go to the hotel (with the team)."
The episode doesn't just focus on the 49ers' head coach. York shares what it was like moving on from a successful but tough to work with head coach in Jim Harbaugh, dealing with the struggles that followed, and then the thought process that went into the hiring of Shanahan and general manager John Lynch. He also discusses the whole situation surrounding the protests which took place during the national anthem. After all, they originated with the 49ers.
Lynch discussed the thought process of moving from the broadcast booth to a role as an NFL executive.
The players share what it was like starting the 2017 season with a nine-game losing streak and the expectations heading into 2018.
"I'm not here to win a T-shirt and hat (from an NFC championship)," Gould said. "I'm here to win a Tiffany's trophy. That's it. That's the only reason I'm here, and if you are here for a T-shirt and hat, then I'll buy you the T-shirt and hat because I want the trophy."
You can listen to the entire podcast below or click here to read the transcript from the episode.
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