For most casual fans, Kyle Shanahan’s connection to the 49ers begins and ends with his role as head coach. However, Kyle’s ties to the team go back to 1992, when his father Mike joined as the offensive coordinator. During that time, Kyle got to interact with legends like Steve Young and even took part in intense drills after practice.
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During Ed McCaffrey’s appearance on Monday Night Countdown with his wife, Lisa, and Mike and Peggy Shanahan, the former wide receiver shared an anecdote about Kyle from the ’90s. McCaffrey met the 15-year-old future head coach during this time, who, as per his account, was full of life.
McCaffrey’s earliest memory of Kyle also involved him blindly following Steve Young’s instructions to run countless routes after practice, to the point of nearly puking.
As the former wide receiver recalled:
“My happy memory of Kyle in 1994 was just this happy kid, who had a smile, ear to ear, and Steve Young would make him run routes after practice until he was about to puke.”
Ed then reminisced that Kyle was an eager child who loved picking brains and being around the greats. So, it was no surprise to see the young Kyle act like a kid in a candy shop around Deion Sanders and others, eager to gain their insights.
“He’d [Kyle] have Deion have him try to get off the line; or you know, he’d run routes with Jerry, trying to learn from him,” he continued.
The most important takeaway from Ed’s account of Kyle, however, was the genesis of a trait that he proudly symbolizes today — hard work. Ed noted that despite the physical strain he used to undergo with the players, he would always keep a smile and not take rest until he literally dropped asleep.
“He would just smile ear to ear until he dropped. I think there was a couple times he fell asleep like in the equipment shed between practices.”
Seeing Ed have such vivid memories with Kyle would normally mean that they knew each other decently well. But to everyone’s surprise, Christian McCaffrey’s father didn’t even know that Kyle was Mike’s son.
Ed McCaffrey didn’t know Kyle Shanahan’s roots
Before dropping this bomb about not knowing Kyle’s roots, Ed justified that he had poor observation skills, unlike his wife, Lisa. So for Ed, Kyle was just another ball boy. For him, making the team and cementing a place was the priority, so he barely had time to notice much about Kyle or his affiliation.
“I’m not usually that observant as Lisa, but I did just notice this kid, and I didn’t even know he was Kyle Shanahan. I didn’t know it was Mike’s son or Peggy’s son because I just got there. I don’t even know them yet. l’m just trying to make the team.”
But for Ed, Kyle’s greatness also lies in this. The former 49ers wide receiver noted that it’s very rare for a ball boy to register himself in a player’s mind. This further shows how noticeably hardworking and happy Kyle was in the camp.
Hearing these anecdotes from Ed would likely make many neutral football enthusiasts root for Kyle Shanahan this season. From a ball boy to a Super Bowl-winning coach for the 49ers, stories like these could inspire a generation to never give up!
