49ers Notebook: Kyle Shanahan reaches a coaching milestone... How much longer will he coach? Dre Greenlaw’s revenge; Deebo steps up

What started out as a somewhat uneventful game between the San Francisco 49ers and Denver Broncos on Sunday wound up giving fans a thrill in the end, while providing plenty to discuss in the process.

The game meandered its way to a 3-3 halftime tie and stayed that way well into the third quarter before a number of memorable moments helped pave the way to a 24-14 49ers win and a 4-0 record. It also led to a major milestone for head coach Kyle Shanahan, one that was made happier by the fact it came during a win.

We'll start out this packed version of 49ers Notebook with that milestone before diving into a couple of the game's major turning points, plus we'll talk about the big performances in the game from wide receiver Deebo Samuel and linebacker Dre Greenlaw, who was more than a little amped up to face his former team. Without further ado...

Passing a legend

Shanahan became the all-time franchise leader in games coached on Sunday with 153 regular season games under his belt since being hired in 2017. That mark puts him ahead of the legendary Bill Walsh, who finished with 152 games coached.

Shanahan isn't entirely comfortable seeing his name ahead of Walsh in the record books, but it makes him appreciative of what he and the 49ers have accomplished.

"I feel very awkward talking about myself with that stuff," Shanahan said Sunday. "I wasn't stunned because I knew it was coming, but I was last week when they told me how many games that I had been here. Definitely makes me feel pretty old ... but it's pretty cool. Shows how good a team we've had, how good of an organization we've had, and just to be able to be here that long has been awesome."

Tight end George Kittle is one of two players (along with fullback Kyle Juszczyk) who have been with Shanahan since his first season in San Francisco. He had plenty of praise for Shanahan when discussing the milestone after the win Sunday.

"I'm incredibly happy for him," Kittle said. "I'm happy for myself that I was drafted to an organization like this with him like at the helm. And like the way that he conducts himself on a daily basis, the way that he runs team meetings, the way that he holds everybody to the same standard. Like everything he's done has been pretty consistent. Like he's grown obviously as a coach and he's done things like some things differently, but ever since day one, he's been really the same guy and I've really appreciated that.

"And being able to be here for each one, and yes, I haven't played in every single game that he's coached, but to be here for all of them, it means a lot. And it's just an honor to go to battle with him every single Sunday. And when you when you have a head coach that, one, holds everybody to the same standard, but two, you know how hard he prepares every single week and the hours that he puts in to try to put the best game plan together for us, I just feel lucky every single day that he's my head coach."

Left tackle Trent Williams has known Shanahan longer than Kittle, as the two of them were together when Shanahan was an assistant in Washington from 2010 to 2013. Seeing Shanahan surpass Walsh was a special moment for Williams.

"He is my coach, but he's more like family to me," Williams said. "So watching him to continue to elevate as a head coach -- he's always been a great coach, but to see him now mentioned in the ranks, and the 49ers are such a storied program -- to be able to be even talked about with these head coaches who came in here and created that tradition, I'm just super proud of him, man. Couldn't be more proud of him."

Shanahan, 46, notched his 86th career victory on Sunday, which trails Walsh's 92 victories and George Seifert's 98 on the franchise record list. It's a safe bet Shanahan will pass both of those marks and perhaps put some distance between him and the rest of the pack, assuming he remains with the 49ers for years to come. When asked Sunday if he'd coach another ten seasons, Shanahan wouldn't commit to a number but made it clear he's not interested in stepping down in the foreseeable future.

"Definitely not thinking in terms of decades, when you say 10," Shanahan said. "But definitely not thinking about stopping anytime soon."

A win with extra meaning for Dre Greenlaw

Dre Greenlaw is known as a player with a fiery nature that winds up getting him 15-yard penalties on a normal day. So on Sunday, against the team he played for in 2025, Greenlaw had to be extra careful not to do anything that might give the 49ers' opponent a break.

He was successful in that quest, while maybe getting a little help from his teammates in keeping a cooler head.

"There was definitely something a little extra for him this week," linebacker Fred Warner said. "You know, he got banged up last game. Everybody's asking him, 'Hey, you going to be able to make it?' And he said, 'I wouldn't miss this one.' So, you know, he had extra emotion going into this game. I told him just to keep it -- you know -- use it wisely, which he did."

That doesn't mean Greenlaw was playing it completely safe. He pointed at Broncos head coach Sean Payton after making a tackle early in the game, then may or may not have had Warner keep him away from Payton after the game.

When it came time to speak to reporters in the locker room following the win, Greenlaw showed nothing but love towards his former team.

"I love all the players, every single person that's on that field over there," Greenlaw said. "There was a couple of them that wasn't there last year, they got to talk. But everybody I was with last year for the most part, they know how I play the game. So it's all love and respect."

As for Payton, Greenlaw said there weren't words sent in his former coach's direction early in the game, telling reporters, "I just pointed at him to be honest," while later adding, "I just haven't talked to him in months, even since I was on the team."

Payton said of Greenlaw after the game, "I think the world of him. I really love everything about him and he plays with that emotion. So, it's all good."

Greenlaw signed a three-year deal with the Broncos in March of 2025 after spending his first six seasons with the 49ers despite the team making an effort to keep him from leaving in free agency. But he had some ups and downs during his one season with the Broncos, which included injury problems as well as a short suspension from the league for confronting an official. The Broncos let Greenlaw go after one season, after which it became a no-brainer to return to his former team, who weren't quite able to replace his presence when he was gone. Greenlaw had a big performance for the 49ers on Sunday, notching a team-high 12 tackles in the win.

"There's stuff (from Sunday) I want to have back, I wish I can have back," Greenlaw said. "But I'm a lot better than I was when I was with them, so I'm just getting better and better."

Greenlaw admitted his emotions were running high and it took something out of him as the game went along.

"For sure. It ran my energy back a little bit, so I kind of had to pick and choose a little bit and be smart and finish the game out," Greenlaw said.

Greenlaw's teammates were more than happy to help him get a win over the Broncos.

"I don't know if you can ever have more fire than Dre on a Sunday," running back Christian McCaffrey said. "But we were pumped for him, man. He's part of our family, and somebody that I couldn't respect more as a football player, as a person. You see how he attacks the game, and so to leave us for a year, we missed him so much, and then to get a revenge game for him was awesome."

Tight end George Kittle said, "I think you could ask anybody who's played with Dre Greenlaw for his like first four or five years that he was here, I think 90 percent of the roster would say that he was their favorite teammate. Just the way that he plays, the way that he practices, his juice and his energy is overflowing every single day. And so this week was definitely a little bit extra. But like he just inspires us all to play violently and that we never get tired. Seeing him hit somebody and get up and hit himself in the face is one of the coolest things as a teammate. And I'm just thankful that he doesn't hit me."

Shanahan was proud of the performance Greenlaw had on Sunday -- and of the fact Greenlaw didn't rack up any extra penalties in the process.

"We knew he'd be excited going into this game," Shanahan said. "Dre's excited going into every game, but this one meant a little more to him. I was a little nervous there in the first half. We told him, 'You can get close, but don't be so excited you give them an explosive with 15.' And I really thought someone was going to get one in the second half of one of the teams. I just challenged our team to make sure it wasn't us. I don't think anyone ended up getting one, but Dre held his emotions good enough today and led the team in tackles and had an unbelievable game. He's had an unbelievable season so far and we're so happy to have him back at home."

The Deebo of old

While Greenlaw's return to the 49ers has been a success so far, so has that of Deebo Samuel, who rejoined the 49ers on a one-year deal in the offseason after playing a season with the Washington Commanders.

Samuel, 30, entered into the season with a number of critics questioning whether or not he had enough gas left in the tank to make a significant impact. He's proven them wrong so far, with his performance on Sunday serving as more evidence that he'll be a problem for opposing teams throughout the season.

In true Samuel fashion, Deebo did a bit of everything for the 49ers on Sunday, notching three carries for 44 yards, five catches for 26 yards and one touchdown, and two kickoff returns for 49 yards.

"I thought Deebo was huge today," Shanahan said. "Those two runs in the first half that he had, I don't think many people get the amount of yards that he got on that. Both of them, I think they were about eight yards, but he does something amazing to get over 20 on both of them. He was really big at the end on a couple. They're all less than 10-yard catches, but they were big catches that kept us ahead of the sticks. And then Brock finding him to get in the end zone was huge, too."

The touchdown was the third receiving of the season for Samuel, who had five receiving touchdowns along with 72 catches for 727 yards for the Commanders in 2025. Williams, who has long been one of Samuel's closest friends on the team, talked on Sunday about why Samuel has been playing with a chip on his shoulder this season.

"Y'all recall when we signed Deebo I said, 'I think we're probably going to get the best Deebo we've seen' ? And he's been making my words true," Williams said. "I'm really proud of him. We anticipated this. We knew Deebo was coming back with a vengeance and I'm really happy for him.

"This offseason was probably the first time in his career that he was doubted. He's always been supremely talented, always been a playmaker. This league, it turns on you quick. I think him having to feel that doubt for the first time, it lit a fire under him."

Play of the game?

The biggest turning point in Sunday's game for the 49ers came on special teams, courtesy of a stop and fumble recovery made by defensive back Siran Neal.

The play came with the score tied at three in the third quarter and the 49ers apparently heading back on defense after their second straight three-and-out. There might have been some doubt in the air after that three-and-out as to what the 49ers would have to do to muster enough offense to win the game, but it went away when Neal tripped up return man Marvin Mims, who then put the ball on the ground. Neal recovered the fumble to give the ball back to the 49ers, who turned the takeaway into the first touchdown of the game.

"It was a huge play by Neal," Shanahan said. "...We actually challenged the special teams last night. The type of game we thought it was going to be, we wanted to run the ball a lot, and we said if we're going to meet those goals, we thought the special teams would have to get a turnover, and Siran came through with that. It was a huge play. It was a huge job just beating the gunner and making that tackle, let alone getting the ball. And then the momentum changed after that."

Trent Williams had heavy praise for Neal, saying "I told Siran it was the play of the game and probably one of the best special teams plays I've seen in my 17 years of professional football. The returner gets the ball with 7, 8 yards of separation. For him to be able to track him down and not only make the tackle in the open field but force the fumble and recover it, I don't know how this game turns out without that play."

A number of Broncos fans cried foul after the fumble, arguing that Mims' forearm hit the ground and that he should have been ruled down. But the play stood, giving Neal one of the biggest special teams plays of the season for the 49ers.

"First of all, I just want to give grace to God, for allowing me to make that play," Neal said Sunday. "I knew going into the game that the special teams were going to have to be a big part of this win. As always, we are not a phase of the game that really gets the attention, but we set the destination of the team. So just doing that for my team, I'm just happy."

A lucky bounce

Neal's turnover might have resulted in another empty possession for the 49ers, had it not been for a heads-up play by running back Kaelon Black.

The 49ers faced a 4th-and-1 at the Denver 19-yard line after Neal's recovery, which they chose to attempt to convert rather than settling for a field goal. The snap on the play was botched but flew into the hands of Black, who then ran for two yards to pick up the first down.

Shanahan confirmed after the game that the play transpired the way it did due to a bad snap by center Jake Brendel.

"It was a bad snap," Shanahan said. "Yeah, we didn't call a direct snap. I never got to talk to Jake on it because it all worked out, but yeah, I think he just missed it."

Quarterback Brock Purdy provided more detail on the play and praised Black for staying composed and reacting quickly to advance the ball.

"That was a great heads-up play on him," Purdy said. "The ball just like hit Jake's butt and popped back up and I was like, 'Oh gosh.' I went to go get it and then he just snatched it and then kept going on his running back track for the run. For him to do that, be calm about it and still get the first down, that was huge. Kaelon's extremely mature and he comes to work every day with the right mindset, even throughout the game and stuff. If you have a good play and stuff, he doesn't let that be too high. He doesn't let the lows be too low. He's all about the next play mentality, which is really cool to see from a rookie."

Another game without a sack

Sunday's game made it four straight without a sack allowed by the 49ers offense, which was impressive considering the fact they were going against one of the league's more talented defenses. A big part of the credit for that stat goes to the offensive line, which has been playing well as a unit over the first four games of the season.

"They're awesome," Purdy said. "Just how they come to work every single day, attacking meetings and practice, and it just translates on Sundays, and you see them go out there and just doing their job, being on top of it, and then wanting to run the ball. You could tell like those boys are hungry and wanting to put drives together even though it was hot out and all that stuff. You could feel them out there. So, for me to be able to drop back behind those guys, man, I'm extremely blessed. And obviously, it's a long year. We got a long ways to go as an offense and as a team, but just extremely happy with how they're playing and and what they're playing for."

Left tackle Trent Williams said Sunday that the offensive line strongly believes in itself, even if the things it believes may be doubted by others.

"I think everybody in this locker room, you go through those times where you have to be a little bit, I guess for lack of a better word, crazy in the sense to where you've got to believe you're the best," Williams said. "You've got to believe you have the best O-line, you've got to believe you have the best D-line. Whether that's true or not, it's the belief and that confidence that allows you to play like you can be that. So I've always thought we had the talent to be one of the best O-lines in the league. I always say I thought Colton (right tackle Colton McKivitz) and myself are probably the best pair of tackles in the league. With the way Dom (guard Dominick Puni) has been playing, obviously Jake (center Jake Brendel) has been real solid for us -- the heart and soul of our O-line, and Connor (guard Connor Colby) has taken a big step."

Things will only get tougher from here, however, as the 49ers will travel to Seattle next weekend to take on the defending Super Bowl champion Seahawks. The Seahawks sacked Purdy six times over the course of three meetings last season (four in the regular season, two in the playoffs).

"I'm super proud of the O-line but it doesn't stop," Williams said. "We've got to go up to Seattle. That's probably going to be the biggest test so far."

More info on: Kaelon Black, Jake Brendel, Connor Colby, Dre Greenlaw, Kyle Juszczyk, George Kittle, Christian McCaffrey, Colton McKivitz, Siran Neal, Dominick Puni, Brock Purdy, Deebo Samuel, Fred Warner, Trent Williams