San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan addressed reporters ahead of Wednesday's practice as the team gears up for its Wild Card playoff matchup against the Philadelphia Eagles. Here's everything he said.
Transcript provided by the San Francisco 49ers Communications staff.
Opening comments:
"For practice today: we have [LB] Dee Winters with an ankle, won't practice, [DL] Keion White, groin/hamstring, won't practice, [T] Trent Williams, hamstring, won't practice, [WR] Ricky Pearsall, knee/ankle, won't practice, [TE George] Kittle, ankle, limited, [DL] Yetur [Gross-Matos], knee, limited, [LB] Luke Gifford, quad, limited. That's it."
You've been pretty regular that if guys don't practice on Wednesday and Thursday, they usually don't play. For a playoff game, how much does that equation change?
"It changes for a playoff game. I don't have any rule with that in the regular season either. It just usually depends on the guy, whether they've done it before, what the history is of the player and stuff like that. But, whatever gives us the best chance to win on Sunday, we'll without a doubt do."
Trent usually gets a day of rest today. Is today's not practicing part of that rest or is it the hamstring?
"No, he's still hurt. I doubt he would, hopefully he'll be better and can get some in tomorrow, but I'm not sure where he'll be at tomorrow yet."
Where exactly is Ricky at and did that aggravation happen during one of the practices last week?
"No, it happened in the game before that. We didn't do anything last week in practice, but it happened in the game versus Chicago. But, he's in the same boat as Trent."
What's the biggest challenge going against a Philadelphia Eagles defensive coordinator Vic Fangio's defense?
"I mean, Vic schematically, he has always been the best to me. As good as anyone there is. Has a very sound scheme that he doesn't need to change up very much. It just naturally changes with how he does his coverages, how he does his fronts, the personnel groupings he does. He's very good at getting a beat on what you're trying to do and making you adjust."
How close did you get to really hiring him to be your defensive coordinator a few years ago?
"You'd have to ask him. I mean, I've tried all the times that there's been an opportunity. Just, he's always been with someone else when that's happened. I mean, I tried really hard in '17 when we first came here and I tried like two other times on separate occasions. So, Vic's a guy that I've always respected, gone against a number of times before I became a head coach, so that's why I respect him so much and through the process been able to become friends with him."
You've gone with Seattle's scheme and he's obviously not that. Just because you respect him or you would've made that adjustment to a non-Seattle scheme?
"I was able to be a coordinator for nine years before I became a head coach, and so there are just things that I was used to going with that over time, not just one year, but just a few years, that you start to respect the most. And I always respected Vic's defense a ton whether it was at Chicago playing him or whether it was at San Francisco playing him. And then with the Seattle defense and stuff, I earned that respect by going against Seattle and being in Atlanta with [Washington Commanders head coach] Dan Quinn."
LB Kyzir White obviously just got here, but is he someone who, just based on experience, could potentially be available to play this weekend? What do you think?
"I would think so. I mean, we've got to see him out there today for the first time, but I've always had a lot of respect for his game. I played him at a number of different places, a number of different teams. I remember [New Orleans Saints defensive coordinator Brandon] Staley talking him up a lot last year because he was able to coach him, and it sounded just like the guy we went against a lot. He was a very smart, instinctual linebacker that no matter what scheme he was in, I always felt like he had a good beat on what you were trying to do to him."
I believe you and him had a little dust up in a joint practice against the Chargers a few years ago. Did that come up at all?
"It got brought up because it reminded me on my prep for you guys. But yeah, I do remember that. I'll finish that beef with him today (laughter)."
QB Mac Jones knew what he was getting into when he signed here in terms of being the backup. Then he comes in where QB Brock Purdy starts and makes a huge impact here. Now Brock's back, he's kind of faded into the background a little bit. What's your biggest takeaway on his impact this year and is it fair to say that you guys are not in this position without him?
"Oh, no doubt. I mean, anytime you lose your starting quarterback for six or seven games, my kids will do something with that, with seven games I think it was, it's always a huge deal. But, when you've got a guy who comes in and plays like Mac, I mean it was a big reason that we were able to have 12 wins. Rarely can you have 12 wins when you miss your starter for half the year. It was huge. Just like when we lost our first-string and second-string guy in '22, we had a pretty impressive third string quarterback come in where we were able to get the two seed with that. So, you don't just have success with any backup quarterback. They've got to be the right guy, the right player. And what's been so cool with Mac that he might have faded in the background like in the media and stuff because he hasn't been playing on Sundays, but I mean he acts the exact same way at practice, the exact same way in the meeting rooms. He's broken the team down still a number of times. Those guys are very close and he's got a very genuine way of acting that the team has gravitated to."
You've faced Philadelphia Eagles QB Jalen Hurts a few times now. What makes him unique and successful as a quarterback?
"One, he's got a big time-arm. So, with those wideouts and stuff he has, he's capable of making any throw, whether on time or whether extremely late. Usually when a quarterback's late, you can't throw it that far and catch up with those guys. He can. So, you've got to honor the entire field with him. Anytime you have a quarterback who's capable of doing that, who also is a threat every single play throughout an entire game with his legs, it's an issue. Whether he uses it or not, when someone is a threat like that, you have to adjust certain things that you don't have to worry about versus other people. Whether they do it or not, you know you've got to honor it and that slows down your whole defense as a whole."
I think WR Jacob Cowing's going practice today. Obviously, you guys liked him in the Draft process. He had two good college stints. What do you like about him and is there any chance he could go this week or is that all for next year?
"Yeah, I doubt it. We really like Jake. We liked what we drafted and we loved what we got from him last year when he was available. But, he got hurt the first day of training camp and really hasn't been able to string together many days since then. So, we've got him for three weeks so I'd say there's a chance to get him back in and see what happens over these three weeks. But, for a guy to not have any practice throughout camp or this regular season, I think it'd be a little unrealistic for this week."
When Vic took off 2022 and he was here for several OTA practices, was it just like, hey, what's up, visiting? What was the purpose of him being here?
"Well, I mean one I think his girlfriend was from here, so he was in town a lot. Two, I thought there was a chance that the D-Coordinator that we had could possibly get a head coach job the next year, so I wanted to be prepared. So, Vic and I were talking about that stuff a lot and hoping that could possibly work out if we did change or get a new coordinator. But, I remember the morning of our game versus Philly, I think it was, he signed with Miami so lost him that day."
What's the challenge of an opposing team going into Philadelphia and playing a playoff game for you guys in terms of the atmosphere there?
"Always with every place you go, it always starts with crowd noise. I mean, anytime you can talk about the fans and all that stuff, which is to me that's more fun. I don't think that really affects the guys with helmets on who are in between the whites. It might affect family members and things like that if they choose to go in the stands. But, that's just really irrelevant in the game. It has to do with how loud that crowd is. And they're going to be going. You've got to give them a reason to be quiet. And if not, it's an extremely challenging place to play. You're not going to be able to hear and we've got to expect that."
We're seeing the prep going on here, early prep for the Super Bowl. Has that affected you guys at all? Has it affected the team? Anything you've got to move rooms or anything like that?
"No, nothing with our spot. We have to take a different way in in the morning. But, that's been it so far, so it hasn't been an issue at all."
Why do you have the early practice tomorrow? Why switch that up?
"We don't, do we? I think it's the same we always do on Thursdays. Yeah, I'm not sure about the media stuff, but no. We've got a normal schedule this week. We've got to do a couple different meeting times after Thursday's practice just because of the time change. We don't want to land in Philly at midnight on Friday, so we'll fix a few meeting things up so we can get there like 11:15 instead. But, it's a totally normal week."
I don't know if you'd know the answer to this, but given what happened last playoff game in Philadelphia, is there any consideration of having three quarterbacks on the roster?
"I mean, if I did, that'd be the same consideration every week. I don't really chalk it up to that only happens in Philly."
But, is there a consideration?
"No. I mean, that would take us down somewhere else and with that rule that you don't get an extra player, I don't know anyone else who can ever choose that really, unless you're playing with someone who's really injured and you don't think they'll make it through the game. But I mean, to play with one less player throughout the game because of something that, for me has happened once in 23 years and other people I've worked with once in 45 years, just probably wouldn't be the best odds."
When DL Bryce Huff came here he was going to be opposite of DL Nick Bosa and then Bosa went down. How did that impact him and the way teams blocked him?
"It affects a ton. Obviously having two big edges is a big deal, but then being able to move people like [DL] Mykel [Williams] into three-technique on pass rush situations, Yetur who we planned on having inside, that was going to be our starting four with two good edge rushers and two really good inside rushers which affects everything. Nick can get a turn to him. Then when you have a three-technique on that side, it widens up that gap for a speed rusher like Huff. So, it's definitely been challenging losing the group."
How has he held up through the season?
"I thought he's held up pretty good. I mean, he had that hamstring, which I think obviously set him back, took him some time to come back from. I think because of issues that we've had on D-Line with injuries and stuff, we've had to play him more than we want, which is never a good thing for a guy who really majors in pass rush situations. But, he's had to do it for our team and I think he's held up fine doing it."
When you consider LB Eric Kendricks still kind of being new to the system and then bringing in White and then also the fact that you guys just had to play your starters against the Seahawks and then they rested theirs, how beneficial is it to have a week of regular practice coming off of two short weeks?
"Oh, it's crucial. This is our first normal week since the beginning of December. And we got an extra day playing on Saturday, so having eight days this week was, you'll deal with whatever, but it was I thought very important."
With all the touches that RB Christian McCaffrey has had this year, do you worry about him getting worn down at this point in the season and what do you do to mitigate that?
"That's why you hope to have a full week recovery. I think that's a huge deal. I think it wasn't just the three games in 13 days, it was also all national night games, an east coast game, mixing Christmas in there, not having a Bye week until two weeks before that in December. So, that stuff does add up. But, when you get to this time about being worn down, worn down usually leads to injuries so you don't have guys at this time. So, I look at it as Christian's made it through that and this is all we have guaranteed right now is Sunday. We have nothing guaranteed after that. So, once you get to this part of the year no one thinks about anything like that."
How much has CB Upton Stout improved since you've drafted him? How well is he playing right now?
"I think he's playing, I thought he had his best game last week and I think he's had a number of real good games. But, we've been excited since Stout's gotten here and I thought he's had a really good rookie year."
What are your memories of Brock's performance in the last trip to Philly with a slow start but then six-straight touchdowns? What was he doing particularly well that day?
"I haven't reviewed that game for a little bit. I'm sure you can tell us who got hurt in that game (laughter). I'm sure he played awesome. We had a really good game that game and it was a fun game."
You've had FB Kyle Juszczyk for almost a decade now. I think he started 17 games this season. Have you seen any change in him since 2017 when you guys brought him in?
"I think he has gotten better. It's been weird, and we've managed him differently over the last couple years just as he gets older, but Kyle in terms of, if I ever can get out of coaching and I want to focus on like longevity and just being healthy, that's the dude I'm hitting up first. He's a Harvard guy who to me deserves that. He's pretty smart and he works at all that stuff and is extremely consistent in everything. I've been really amazed with him and just that there hasn't been a fall off. Everything we've done in our offense for nine years he's such a big part of and there's been really nothing that we've asked him to do that he hasn't been able to do and make it even better than expected."
Your own personal longevity is what you're talking about?
"Yes. We'll get there someday."