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The San Francisco 49ers and Kansas City Chiefs rekindle a Super Bowl matchup that marked the final NFL game before COVID-19 in 2020, and Niners head coach Kyle Shanahan hasn’t forgotten about that part when his team sputtered under the weight of a pandemic.
“It was just totally different because we got kicked out of our state. We got kicked out of here,” Shanahan told reporters on Thursday about the 2020 California-mandated exodus of the team to Arizona. “We had to go live in a hotel where COVID didn’t seem as big of a deal because outside of our windows, the whole state was open.”
“We got to look at a Dave and Buster’s, a movie theater and everyone was out. But we got kicked out of here because we couldn’t practice football outside [in California],” Shanahan added.
San Francisco slid to 6-10 that season after a Super Bowl run and 31-20 loss to the Chiefs. Shanahan said his team had no time to prepare for the 2020 season amid the chaos of COVID at that time.
“The hardest thing with the COVID year was I think you didn’t get a chance to finish the year before a little bit. There was no offseason. There was no meetings,” Shanahan continued. “The first time we were reviewing the Super Bowl together was training camp.”
Kyle Shanahan Described 2020 as ‘Limbo’
The NFL offseason schedule rolled on that year with free agency — albeit virtually — and a virtual draft. Teams didn’t have mini camps in the spring plus no preseason games amid training camp.
“So, I thought that was a little bit just different. Sitting there in July as a coach, it’s a little bit easier not knowing whether you’re going to play or not because I don’t have the biggest workout routine to get ready for a coaching season,” Shanahan said.
“I think that’s harder for the players just being in limbo and having the COVID situation and not really knowing you’re playing until then. Then trying to get the guys ready and being in the stadium where there were no people was just weird,” Shanahan continued. “Then having to overcome the injuries is what made it the toughest. So I don’t know, COVID was miserable.”
Kyle Shanahan: ‘It Was Like Nice Jail Cells’
Shanahan also lamented the COVID restrictions from that season — even in the 49ers’ temporary home in Arizona.
“Then we were in NFL rules where we’re in a hotel for a month where we’re not allowed to see each other. So we couldn’t have meals together. We couldn’t have meetings together. We couldn’t sit in the lobby together,” Shanahan said.
“So it was like nice jail cells and we got let out for recess, which was practice. Then we had to go right back or you’d get fined. So it was something we hope we never go back to,” Shanahan added.
San Francisco climbed out of COVID chaos with a 10-7 record in 2021 and began a run of three-straight NFC Championship Game appearances. The 49ers look to cap this latest run with a Super Bowl win over the Chiefs.
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