SANTA CLARA — Brock Purdy didn’t beat around the bush. It’s been strange going through the 49ers’ first two days of training camp without head coach Kyle Shanahan.
“He’s the one leading all the team meetings, going over situational football, what practice is going to look like – he’s our main leader,” the fifth-year quarterback said Monday after wrapping up the second day of practice. “It has been weird in terms of not having that.”
For the second day in a row, Shanahan observed a portion of practice from afar, standing around midfield with general manager John Lynch, but stayed out of the fray as he continues to recover from the severe concussion he suffered in a serious July 14 car crash.
Without Shanahan, the 49ers haven’t only been missing their most important voice in the locker room. The quarterbacks are also hearing a different voice in their headsets — Klay Kubiak. The second-year offensive coordinator called plays for a couple of preseason games last year, but typically those duties are handled by their offensive-minded head coach, even over the walkie-talkie in practice.
“Hearing Klay and his voice and stuff is different,” Purdy said. “But Klay’s done such a good job.”
Kubiak joined Shanahan’s staff a year before the 49ers selected Purdy with the final pick of the 2022 NFL Draft. He was promoted to the assistant quarterbacks coach in Purdy’s rookie season and has served as one of the team’s top offensive lieutenants since 2024.
In Shanahan’s absence, Kubiak has stepped up along with offensive line coach Chris Foerster, who was named the acting head coach, as well as defensive coordinator Raheem Morris and special teams coordinator Brant Boyer.
“We’re able to run practice and go through installs and everything,” Purdy said. “That side of it is really good and positive. But obviously he’s our head coach and we all want him here.”
The franchise quarterback doesn’t typically go this long without hearing the voice of his head coach who developed him from the 262nd and final selection of the 2022 NFL draft.
When Purdy swung by the post Shanahan was stationed during his 30 minutes or so watching practice, it was the first time the two had spoken since the car accident that left the head coach bleeding from the head with two black eyes and multiple broken bones.
Football was put on the back burner in their short conversation.
“I told him I loved him and I hope he’s doing good – everything like that,” Purdy said. “Obviously I want him to heal up and [I’m] glad he’s OK. That’s first and foremost. I’m sure he’ll get right and we’ll get into football and everything.”
Purdy was one of the handful of team leaders who received a text from Shanahan’s wife, Mandy, in the aftermath of the wreck informing them what had happened.
He was in such disbelief that his first reaction was to call trusted tight end George Kittle.
“When I first read it I was like, ‘Oh no, is this real?’ kind of thing. Then it sort of sunk in,” Purdy said. Kittle confirmed the veracity of the message. “It hurt really bad reading that text.”
Purdy helped spread the message to other members of the team, but some players — even with as much standing as longtime left tackle and team captain Trent Williams — were left in the dark until they reported for camp this weekend.
Of those he was able to contact, Purdy was able to spread some good news.
By then, he had texted Shanahan and heard back. Although Shanahan suffered serious injuries, he averted the worse of what could have been a far scarier situation.
“Once he texted me back, I was like all right, he’s good,” Purdy said. “It’s a scary moment because all you care about is life at that moment. Like, is he alive? Is he good? All that. …
“After hearing Mandy and then what Kyle said, I was like, all right, Kyle’s good. This is going to be a little process and maybe I don’t know what the road to recovery looks like, but he’s going to be good — and that’s all I cared about in that moment.”
The 49ers have yet to provide a timeline for Shanahan’s recovery. It is the lingering effects of his concussion — not his physical injuries — that are preventing him from fulfilling his duties, according to Lynch. He said the 49ers “anticipate” Shanahan being able to travel to Melbourne, Australia, and coach in their season opener against the Rams on Sept. 10.
But if Shanahan still isn’t ready six weeks from now?
“Hopefully it’s not going to be like that, but if it were I know we have the right guys in the building,” Purdy said. “Obviously we want our guy with us in Kyle. The goal is when he’s ready he’s going to come back in and it’s going to be smooth — we’re just going to keep going.
“Obviously you don’t want the worst to happen, but we’ll be ready for it. More than anything we just want Kyle to be good and healthy and come back when he’s ready.”
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
