RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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See the full story · 5 sourcesMore details continue to emerge surrounding a car accident involving Kyle Shanahan .
The San Francisco 49ers announced the head coach's crash in a statement on July 25, nearly two weeks after it happened. Shanahan suffered "non-life threatening injuries" and will be limited as the Niners begin training camp. Those injuries were revealed to be broken ribs, a broken nose, some "bumps and bruises" and a concussion.
That was until Pro Football Talk's Chris Simms, a close friend of Shanahan's, shared more details during the July 27 episode of the "PFT Live" podcast .
“It was scary,” Simms explained to his co-host, Mike Florio. “All of a sudden, one day, I get a text from Kyle's wife Mandy – she texts myself and my wife – and it's like ‘Oh no, Kyle's been a part of some horrible accident.' She sent us some pictures right off the bat, and it was like ‘Oh my gosh.'"
Simms called the images jarring, indicating just how close the injuries were to being much worse.
"He was this close to maybe losing his right eye," Simms added. "The scar is so big right here. So, all that stuff was just crazy to see."
Simms also noted the head coach is still shaken up and realizes how lucky he was to avoid further damage.
Kyle Shanahan takes blame for car accident
Shanahan spoke with reporters on July 28, revealing some details about the crash.
The head coach said, via ESPN's Nick Wagoner , that he was at fault for the accident. Shanahan explained that California Highway Patrol had a "clerical error attributing accident" to the girl" to the other driver, which was not accurate.
Shanahan said he took his eyes off the road briefly to find his phone, which fell between seats. When he looked up, he had gone over the line and crashed into an SUV.Shanahan said he did not lose consciousness or have amnesia following the accident, Wagoner reported.
When will Kyle Shanahan return?
Shanahan's timeline for a return is dependent on his recovery from the concussion, which could put his Week 1 status in doubt.
John Lynch, San Francisco's president of football operations and general manager, expressed some optimism about Shanahan's recovery, telling reporters that they aren't expecting him to miss the season opener.
"That's not what we're anticipating," Lynch said. "That's not what I've heard from the doctors, but you know, just like we talk about with players, the timeline kind of takes care of itself. So he's got to meet certain markers, but I think the expectation is that long before that he'll be better. But again, everybody responds to these things differently. And you know, we're going to do whatever it takes to have him right when he comes back and that's the right thing to do."
Who is replacing Kyle Shanahan?
Chris Foerster, the 49ers' assistant head coach, will handle the head coaching position while Shanahan is out. The 49ers' announced that the team coordinators are also set to take on some responsibilities during the head coach's absence.
Foerster has been with the Niners since 2019, holding a variety of titles during that time. He has been a primarily an offensive line coach since entering the NFL ranks in 1993 with the Minnesota Vikings.
The 64-year-old met with the media for the first time on July 26 and shared the message he received from Shanahan.
"I had the one conversation, and I think what he said to me was, 'Hey, you do whatever you want. I have a lot of confidence in you. You know how we do things. You do whatever you want to do, and if you don't want to do it, delegate it to somebody else, man,'" Foerster said. "He said, 'You do what you feel is right and lead that way.' And he said, 'I trust that anything you want to do, and anything you want to delegate, delegate.'"
Foerster said he learned of his new role when the team released the statement about Shanahan. While he explained that he's fired up for the opportunity, Foerster added that the Shanahan news was difficult to process.
"The thing is, he's family to me, this whole organization" Foerster said. "I've known Kyle for a long time. He's one of my best friends in the world, by far. There's not many people that I call friend, for a lot of reasons, and Kyle is one of them. He and his wife, Mandy, are like family to me. This organization did some things for me and pulled me in at a time in my life when nobody would really want to be with me. And Kyle, along with John and the whole York family, have stood by me, and that loyalty is never going to be forgotten.
"He's a close, close friend, and it scares the crap out of you when something like this happens to somebody so close."
Robert Saleh thankful Shanahan is OK
Saleh, the head coach of the Tennessee Titans and former defensive coordinator under Shanahan, commented on the crash.
"I talked to him a couple days after it happened," Saleh said, via The Tennessean's Nick Suss, part of the USA TODAY Network . "He's very fortunate. We're all very fortunate that he's still here. I know just talking to him and his wife, Mandy. (What) you see now, isn't what it was two weeks ago.
"Thank God he's OK. Thank God his family is intact. He's doing great. He looks great. Saw him on FaceTime a couple days ago. The surgeon did a great job. Not easy for him to go through what he went through."
Rams head coach Sean McVay shares 'thoughts and prayers'
Sean McVay and Kyle Shanahan might be rivals on the field, but they are friends first. At the Rams' first day of training camp on July 25, McVay revealed that he spoke with Shanahan after the coach's crash.
"Most importantly, thank God he and the other person involved is okay," McVay said....
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