San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan said on Wednesday that wide receiver Kendrick Bourne reminds him of his son. That son, by the way, is nine years old.
"I don't mean that as an insult ... kind of," Shanahan added.
What did the 49ers coach mean when comparing his third-year receiver to a nine-year-old?
"Bourne, when you sit there and get on him, he still sits there and smiles at you," Shanahan explained. "At first, it used to drive me crazy because it's like, 'Are you not bothered by it?' He is. He's trying his hardest, he's trying to go out there, but he really loves to play football, and I think you guys can see how he plays in that, and I think sometimes that can get taken the wrong way in terms of (thinking) he's not locked in and detailed on it, and he is."
So what does Bourne think about Shanahan comparing him to a nine-year-old? He had a positive response when KNBR's Mark Willard asked him about the coach's comment.
"I take it as a good compliment, man," Bourne told Willard. "He loves his son so --"
Bourne paused there to laugh before continuing to explain his relationship with his head coach.
"Our relationship has been cool," Bourne continued. "He knows my personality. When we first had an encounter, when I first went to his office, it was a serious meeting, and I was kind of laughing. I think that's what he's talking about. He kind of got on me. Just motivational words and stuff like that, something to just push me a little bit more, make me go harder.
"Ever since then, it's always been cool between us. When we're in meetings, he can joke about me in front of the whole team, and he knows that I'm that type of player. I can take that. He can put me on the spot in front of the team, and he just knows that we're cool like that.
"The relationship has been cool, man. His coaching is phenomenal, so whenever he has something to coach me up on, I'm taking it."
You can listen to the entire conversation with Bourne below.
