49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan broke his nose, three ribs and his hand, needed over 40 stitches to his face and sustained a severe concussion after he was involved in a car accident last week, San Francisco general manager John Lynch said on Saturday.
Per police, the accident occurred on July 14 in Palo Alto when Shanahan collided with an SUV near his northern California home.
“He did break his nose and some black eyes are getting better,” Lynch told reporters in a press conference. “He broke some ribs, that’s painful, but that’s not what’s keeping him away. It’s the concussion. And like I said, we’ll continue to evaluate him, phase him back. And as he can tolerate things, we’ll expand those. And that will clearly be dictated by the doctors and nothing else.”
The other driver was not injured, per Palo Alto lieutenant Nicholas Martinez. Martinez added that drugs and alcohol were not involved.
The 49ers said Shanahan will participate in team activities on a limited basis at the start of training camp, and doctors will not clear Shanahan for all activities until concussion symptoms clear.
“Kyle basically is going to be like in the protocol,” Lynch said. “And we’re going to let the doctors dictate how he comes back, when he comes back. He’s been in the building, so we’ve seen him. It’s kind of like we do with our players, a phased back approach. Number one for Kyle and the Shanahan family is getting him back right.”
The team said assistant head coach Chris Foerster along with team coordinators will handle the head-coaching responsibilities during this time.
The Niners are scheduled to hold their first practice of training camp Sunday morning and are set to open the season on Sept. 10 against the Los Angeles Rams in Melbourne, Australia.
Lynch said Shanahan should be recovered well before the start of the regular season.
“The timeline kind of takes care of itself,” Lynch said. “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 we’re going to do whatever it takes to have him right when he comes back.”
Shanahan, 46, will begin his 10th season as head coach in San Francisco. He owns an 82-67 record in the regular season. He has a 9-5 postseason record, guiding the 49ers to a pair of Super Bowl appearances — losing to the Kansas City Chiefs both times (2020, 2024).
–Field Level Media
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