San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan spoke highly of his Philadelphia Eagles counterpart, Nick Sirianni, as the two teams prepared for their upcoming Week 13 showdown. Admitting that he doesn't know Sirianni personally, Shanahan expressed deep respect for the Eagles coach, praising his ability to prepare the team to play hard every week.
"I love the commitment to the run game that they do on offense," Shanahan shared. "I think that's one of the coolest things. It's not just that they're committed to the run, but they know what they're doing, too. They know how to use the quarterback as a runner. They know the adjustments defenses have to make, and then they know, when they are making those adjustments, how to use him as a passer. So I've got a lot of respect for them, just schematically and what they've done there.
"I don't know him the best, but Bob Lange (former 49ers VP of communications, now with the Eagles) speaks very high of them, so he must be a cool dude."
The 49ers feel well-prepared entering Sunday's matchup, as was the case last season when they traveled to Lincoln Financial Field for the NFC Championship Game. They hope to have better luck on the injury front this time, though.
"The one thing that was weird about that game is none of us had been in a game that you lost all your quarterbacks, and that's what was a little different," Shanahan said. "But, besides that, we thought it would've been a real good game."
Shanahan acknowledges that nothing would have been guaranteed had Brock Purdy avoided tearing his right elbow's ulnar collateral ligament (UCL). Regardless, the coach expressed confidence in his team's readiness for that matchup.
As for this season's Eagles squad, Shanahan knows his 49ers have a formidable challenge ahead of them. When asked about concerns regarding the opponent, the coach stated, "Almost everything. A real good team, really good offense, really good defense, really good special teams. So, it goes back and forth."