Niners Nation
With Kyle Shanahan recovering from a car accident, San Francisco 49ers offensive line coach Chris Foerster will be interim head coach for the next few days, or even weeks, depending on Shanahan’s recovery. According to 49ers general manager John Lynch, at this stage of the season, it just might be a title in name only.
“The way Kyle’s thinking about it,” Lynch said. “And has communicated to me that he wants to see things done as that it’s a collective effort.”
It’s not like Shanahan is completely off the field as he recovers. Lynch said the head coach would be seen on the field, but it’s a matter of “what he can tolerate.” The plan for training camp is already written, and installs are put together per Lynch. Now it’s just someone to handle a few things Shanahan would have. Lynch noted talking to the team and media as two things Shanahan isn’t ready to do.
That’s where Foerster comes in.
At first, seeing the offensive line coach become the front-man might appear a bit odd. Foerster has over thirty years of experience in coaching within the NFL, but he’s never gone beyond the position of offensive coordinator—something he last did with the Miami Dolphins in 2004.
So why Foerster? When you look at the coaching roster, it’s actually the only—and least-disruptive—decision to be made. That didn’t stop a question from coming up during Lynch’s press conference about what went into the decision.
“He’s been in the league for 34 seasons,” Lynch said. “He’s been around Kyle; he is our assistant head coach.”
Well put. A quick look at the 49ers coaching roster lists Foerster as the only assistant head coach. So, years of experience and the current job title. It is also important to note that Foerster has been on the staff since 2019 in some capacity. He has seen how Shanahan does things and is one of the longest-tenured assistants on his staff. That at least means (or at least we can hope) things can go as normal as possible in Shanahan’s absence.
It’s important to remember the 49ers don’t want to change anything at this point. They don’t need distractions or disruptions to the way Shanahan does things. Furthermore, it’s the beginning of a season without a practice, not the middle of a lost season with jobs on the line. This isn’t a person on a coaching staff picked to coach out the last two or three games after the head coach has been fired. As Lynch said, the 49ers need someone out front, but it’s going to be a collaborative effort, minus Shanahan.
But why the decision on the offensive line coach?
Well, they could go to defensive coordinator Raheem Morris. He just got off a stint as head coach of the Atlanta Falcons. Whether that’s successful or not isn’t relevant; he at least can run meetings and hold down the fort in Shanahan’s absence, especially when this might just be a name on paper to...
