Kyle Shanahan may have downplayed the satisfaction of beating an organization that fired both him and his father, Mike Shanahan, back in 2013, but that didn't stop the San Francisco 49ers head coach from giving the game ball to his father after the 9-0 victory on Sunday.
"It was a game that we wanted to win for both him and Mike Shanahan," tight end George Kittle said after the game, "and it was really fun that we could get that for him."
While Kyle Shanahan was focused on getting his team to 6-0 at rain-soaked FedExField, he did comment a bit after the game on what it meant to leave with a victory.
"Everyone's always a little more sensitive towards things that involve your family," Shanahan said. "That's why I'm always a little more sensitive to this because of what I went through with my dad here. And that's why it was nice to get the win.
"But it definitely had nothing to do with the game. It had nothing to do with the score. But you always want to take care of things the right way when you've been bothered about how some things have been for a family member."
The 49ers posted the following video of Shanahan's post-game speech, which does not include the game ball presentation. That's because the elder Shanahan wasn't actually at the game. Kyle Shanahan sent his father a text message informing him that he earned the game ball.
The video does, however, show the head coach speaking to his victorious players after the game.
"We've got something special."
Kyle Shanahan delivers the postgame speech in Washington. pic.twitter.com/x2eW51UGxY
— San Francisco 49ers (@49ers) October 21, 2019
