SANTA CLARA, Calif. — After learning his role will expand while San Francisco 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan recovers from multiple injuries suffered in a recent car accident, assistant head coach Chris Foerster took a moment to watch general manager John Lynch’s news conference Saturday discussing the situation.
Foerster’s biggest takeaway? Lynch expressed a bit of doubt — even if tongue-in-cheek — about Foerster’s ability to handle the team breakdown at the end of a practice.
So following Sunday’s first training camp practice with Shanahan working on the periphery, Foerster made it a point to give his best breakdown of the roughly 90-minute session.
“John made fun of me yesterday,” Foerster reported, chuckling. “He didn’t think I was a breakdown guy.
“I got a little fired up today. I was challenged yesterday, so I got a little bit fired up. I reported how fired up I was to be a part of this team and how much I love the way they practice and the energy they bring every day.”
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With Shanahan limited in what he can do as he works through a concussion sustained in the July 14 car accident, the Niners reported Foerster will take on some of the head coaching responsibilities, though coordinators Raheem Morris (defense), Klay Kubiak (offense) and Brant Boyer (special teams) also will handle some of those duties.
Sunday offered the first opportunity to see how the operation would go with Foerster making an early decision to shake things up from the norm. Instead of their usual team meeting at which Shanahan often will walk the entire squad through a series of things, Foerster decided to split up the offense and defense for that session with Kubiak leading the offense and Morris the defense.
Foerster reported he and Shanahan had one conversation this past week in which Shanahan advised him to do things how he wants, and if there’s something he doesn’t want to do, to delegate that to someone else.
The early returns on Foerster stepping into that role have been good, at least in the eyes of left tackle Trent Williams and linebacker Fred Warner.
Williams reported he found out about Shanahan’s accident through social media and took solace in getting the whole story quickly rather than an emergency phone call with Shanahan in the hospital. Warner reported he learned of the accident from Shanahan’s wife, Mandy, and immediately told Shanahan that he, the coaching staff and other veteran leaders would make sure everything runs smoothly until he gets back to full strength.
Williams has known Foerster longer than anyone on the team with a relationship dating to 2010, when they worked together in Washington.
“He’s been doing this longer than everybody in that locker room been alive probably except for me,” Williams reported. “It’s like a hand-in-glove fit. Me personally, I’m so proud of him just watching him even just be a head coach for a day, no matter how long it is. We go so far back, he’s family to me. So just seeing him in that position, I’m just really proud.”
Still, Shanahan is likely never to be too far away. During Sunday’s practice, he came out to the field about midway through team drills, standing next to Lynch and observing the 11-on-11 periods. Wearing a Niners hat, long-sleeve T-shirt and shorts, Shanahan had a pair of sunglasses on in part to cover what Lynch described as a couple of black eyes suffered in the accident.
During a special teams period, fullback Kyle Juszczyk, Warner and linebacker Dre Greenlaw jogged to the middle of the field to greet Shanahan. Warner complimented Shanahan on his “disguise.”
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Shanahan was on the field for about 30 minutes before heading back inside.
“I know he can’t stay away,” Warner reported. “I know he’s given up the duties for a little bit, but that guy’s obsessed with ball, so I’m sure of course he’s going to be around.”
Though Foerster is a sort of de facto head coach for now, he suggested Sunday that it’s more about handling small things such as handling news conferences in Shanahan’s stead than any sweeping changes to his day-to-day job.
One thing Foerster has found himself worrying about is how to handle things in practice when a player jumps offside. Does he run the play over so everyone can get that rep, or does he move on to the next one as a punishment for the mistake? That’s something head coaches must know going in so they don’t have to think about it when it happens and practice can continue.
Foerster will figure that out in due time, and with the expectation that Shanahan should be back soon, he’s also making sure to enjoy the chance to help the team in new ways.
“I’m fired up,” Foerster reported. “Not from the standpoint of Kyle’s down, this is my big chance. No, it’s just like, I love the opportunity to help. I think what I learned a long, long time ago, I believe you serve leadership. You help people by serving leadership as anybody I can help. Any way I can help Kyle, any way I can help the 49ers, any way I can help John Lynch, any way I can help my players.
“Anything I can do to help. That’s where I get that charge out of life.”
