Kyle Shanahan is officially back to cracking jokes as the NFL season draws closer.
The San Francisco 49ers head coach spoke to reporters on Sunday night ahead of their Week 1 game against the Los Angeles Rams in Australia. But it was already Monday morning local time in Melbourne, where the press conference took place.
One reporter asked Shanahan to share the latest updates on 49ers players working their way back from injury. Shanahan had a clever reason for wanting to excuse himself from sharing such an update yet.
“Because we’re technically in the future from where we’re from, and the Rams are in the present, I don’t have to talk about injuries until tomorrow. That’s when I’ll talk about them,” Shanahan said.
49ers HC Kyle Shanahan says that because the 49ers are “technically in the future” (it’s Monday in Australia), they don’t have to report injury updates until tomorrow (Tuesday in Australia). pic.twitter.com/yzKCzYSBzA
— Harrison Rich (@harrisonrich_) September 7, 2026
That’s one way to prevent the Niners’ rivals from getting even a minor competitive advantage.
The Rams and 49ers took opposite approaches to acclimating to the new time zone for the Melbourne clash. The 49ers flew in more than a full week before the contest to give their players extra days to adjust to the time difference. The Rams decided to delay their arrival until Thursday, roughly 24 hours before the season opener kicks off.
49ers fans must also feel encouraged about Shanahan being comfortable enough to tease reporters months after his serious car accident. Shanahan spoke to the media with a much more somber tone just weeks ago.
