NFL commissioner Roger Goodell is not feeling particularly sympathetic toward San Francisco 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan’s complaints about the team’s international games in 2026.
Shanahan recently said he did not see any benefits to the team having to play in Australia against the Los Angeles Rams to open the NFL season. The 49ers coach admitted the league’s response would be to tell the team to deal with it, and that is exactly what Goodell did when speaking to media in Australia.
“His job is to win. His job is to play,” Goodell said. “I understand coaches like to play at 1:00, 4:00, don’t get in the way of that. We’re going to make it a great experience for the team. That’s one of the things we focus on.
“I have a (jet lag) app for him which I’m going to send to him. I have not felt any jet lag at all.”
Roger Goodell on #49ers HC Kyle Shanahan not being a fan of playing in Australia:
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) April 10, 2026
“His job is to win. His job is to play. … We’ll make it a great experience for the team.”
Goodell added he can send Shanahan an app to help with jet lag.
“I have not felt any jet lag at all. I… https://t.co/06SntweKjs pic.twitter.com/Yyfe8KMlmm
It’s fair to say that no coach loves playing internationally, but Shanahan has been more vocal than most in his complaints. He even suggested the Rams got the game moved to Australia to prevent their home stadium from being taken over by Niners fans.
The 49ers have played internationally three times before, but only once under Shanahan. That was a 38-10 win over the Arizona Cardinals in Mexico City in 2022.
