When San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan stepped onto the practice field at the team's Santa Clara facility on Wednesday, something immediately felt off. The team had reconfigured its practice field layout, and the change caught even the head coach off guard—despite him being fully aware of the alteration.
For years, the practice fields ran north to south. Now, they're aligned east to west, creating one full-size regulation field and a shorter adjacent field. The makeover was made possible by removing the artificial surface field previously in place on the far west side.
The new setup left Shanahan feeling slightly disoriented.
"It's a work in progress," Shanahan told reporters after practice. "Today was my first time out there with that field, so it was the first time it was different for me in nine years, so I felt nauseous out there. I was dizzy the whole time."
Shanahan admitted he's a creature of habit, and even a simple change in where he stands during practice was enough to disrupt his rhythm.
"I didn't know where to go today, but we'll get used to it," he added. "We could rotate it. The cool thing is it's the first time we got a full 120-yard field and got our first field goal (post) in there that's stationary. So, a lot more room, which is nicer, but it's a work in progress."
The reconfiguration will enable the 49ers to finally hold joint practices in Santa Clara, something that has been challenging in the past due to space limitations.
Last summer, the 49ers planned joint practices with the New Orleans Saints in Southern California ahead of their preseason matchup at Levi's Stadium. While those practices were ultimately canceled due to a high number of injuries, the plan to hold them elsewhere highlighted the challenges of limited options in Santa Clara.
This year, the 49ers will host the Denver Broncos for joint practices beginning Thursday, August 7, and will also work with the Las Vegas Raiders in Henderson, Nevada, the following week.
For now, Shanahan and his players will need some time to adapt to the new surroundings.
"I'm trying to not change everything after one day, so we're going to give it three days and see what to do next," Shanahan said.
The early discomfort will likely fade quickly, but Shanahan's honest reaction shows how even small changes can feel significant to those dependent on routines.