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For many members of the “Faithful,” the chance to meet San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan would be the opportunity of a lifetime.
One young Niners fan made that opportunity happen, albeit in a pretty unorthodox way. The 49ers were able to put together an important 23-7 win against the Houston Texans on Sunday, propelling the team to 9-7. While San Francisco did not clinch a playoff berth, they’re keeping pace to do so and can secure one with a win over the Los Angeles Rams in Week 18.
During the win over the Texans, a young man in what appears to be a Joe Montana jersey ran across Levi’s Stadium’s field, running directly up to Shanahan.
During the Texans game, a child rushed the field and went straight to Kyle Shanahan.
“Now I feel bad, I wish I pounded the kid. Respect. I don’t know how he got down there.” 😂
(🎥 @bayareazoei)
Viewers can tell that the fan said something to Shanahan, not long before staff and security eventually come up to him to escort him away. The 49ers head coach confirmed that the interaction took him by surprise, although he wished he had responded differently.
“That scared the hell out of me,” Shanahan said. “It threw me off so bad I didn’t know what was going on, and now I feel bad, I wish I could’ve pounded the kid. Respect. I don’t know how he got down there. I was just looking at my call sheet, and hear a voice in front me say, ‘Holy cow, Kyle Shanahan.’ I didn’t know if it was my son at first or what.”
Shanahan clearly has a good sense of humor about the whole situation, although it’s easy to see why that situation might be jarring. Children running up to say hello isn’t on the Niners head coach’s list of gameday responsibilities.
Of course, Shanahan wasn’t the only person on the San Francisco sideline that noticed the kid’s bold move, with star tight end George Kittle also chatting about the interaction.
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49ers Star Shares Experience
Kittle didn’t make as much noise in the box score as he usually does during quarterback Trey Lance’s second-ever NFL start. He was only targeted twice, with his lone catch coming from a grab that’s as good as any in his career.
However, the tight end was upbeat after the big win, and that didn’t waver when the topic of the kid came up. According to Kittle, he was mid-chat with 49ers offensive lineman Tom Compton when it happened.
“All I heard was, ‘I love you Deebo.’” When George Kittle noticed there was a child on the field 😂 #49ers
“Yeah, I saw that,” tight end George Kittle said when asked about the encounter. “I was talking to Tom Compton, and then all of a sudden, all I heard was, ‘Deebo, I love you,’ and I was like, ‘What?’ And then they were like, ‘Dude, get that kid off the field,’ and I said, ‘What kid?’ And so I look over, and there’s a kid talking to Kyle, and I was like, ‘Yeah, back to our regularly-scheduled programming. This was super interesting. Awesome.’ I would have really liked it [but] the pandemic thing makes it a little weird. But I guess we’re good. I had hand sanitizer. I was fine. Just definitely weird. Good for that kid, though. Hopefully, they were nice to him.”
Certainly not your average moment in an NFL game, but when Kittle does things like the catch below, “average” isn’t out of the norm for him.
#HOUvsSF on CBS/49ers App
Kyle Shanahan Opens Up on QB Situation
Besides his run-in with the enthusiastic young fan, Shanahan also spoke on the situation at quarterback. Lance stepped in for QB Jimmy Garoppolo on Sunday, and threw two touchdowns and 249 yards en route to the victory.
As David Lombardi reported, the 49ers head coach is sticking with Garoppolo, if the 29-year-old QB is healthy enough in time for this upcoming Sunday.
No change in Shanahan’s stance on Garoppolo/Lance/starting QB moving forward. He says Garoppolo is the obvious starter if fully healthy, but since he’s not fully healthy he won’t hesitate to go w/ Lance if needed. Shanahan adds Garoppolo won’t need to be fully healthy to start
As for his estimation on Jimmy G’s chances to play against the Rams, Shanahan said that he thinks “he’ll able to do it this week,” but that it’s “just me giving you guys an honest guess.”
Obviously, nothing is set in stone. But it’s also a clear admission that the San Francisco head coach is planning for Garoppolo to come back this weekend and start.
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Child Rushes 49ers Sideline, Kyle Shanahan During Texans Game [VIDEO]