Kyle Shanahan couldn’t help himself after a joint practice that stayed unusually clean.
Following the 49ers’ Tuesday work against the Chargers in El Segundo, Shanahan was asked whether he had given his team any special message about avoiding the kind of skirmishes that broke out in San Francisco’s practice with the Titans last week. He answered with a grin and a shot at longtime friend Robert Saleh: “No, their head coach had more discipline than Tennessee’s,” he said, pointing toward Jim Harbaugh.
The line landed because the difference between the two joint practices was impossible to miss. On Aug. 11 in Santa Clara, the 49ers and Titans mixed it up repeatedly, including several flare-ups early in 11-on-11 work. Shanahan said two 49ers players were ejected for throwing punches under the team’s strict rule, while Titans offensive linemen Dan Moore Jr. and Austin Deculus also left the field, according to reports from The San Francisco Standard and the New York Post.
This time, there was no such mess. Tuesday’s session at the Chargers’ facility reportedly went nearly two hours in full pads without any extracurriculars. Nick Wagoner of ESPN said it ranked among the most peaceful joint practices he had covered, with no fights seen on the 49ers offense versus Chargers defense side.
Shanahan later made clear the jab was just a joke. That matters, because he and Saleh are close from Saleh’s run as San Francisco’s defensive coordinator, and Saleh had wanted the joint work so his young defense could go against Shanahan’s scheme.
Harbaugh, now in his third season with the Chargers and a former 49ers head coach, clearly ran a tighter practice. The calm setting gave both teams the controlled reps they wanted before Thursday’s preseason game at SoFi Stadium.
The football itself was a mixed bag for San Francisco. Brock Purdy said the offense didn’t meet its own standard.
“Honestly, I don’t think it was our best day,” Purdy said. “Fundamentals and stuff were just a little off… I just feel like we could have come out with a little more chip on our shoulder offensively,” according to The San Francisco Standard and FOX Sports.
Shanahan’s review matched that tone. He said the early work was solid, but the offense lost its way in move-the-ball periods and came up empty in the two-minute drill. “I didn’t really like how we finished the day,” he told reporters.
Still, the session served its purpose. The coaching connections around both teams - Harbaugh’s history with the 49ers and Chargers offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel’s time under Shanahan - helped keep the temperature down. For one day, at least, the 49ers got a clean practice, the Chargers got their work in, and Shanahan got the line of the afternoon.
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For a unit that has been trying to build some much-needed stability up front, losing the center is a tough setback to absorb this deep into camp. It leaves the Chargers weighing a sudden reshuffle in front of Herbert, with rookie Jake Slaughter emerging as the next man up and an important part of the conversation as the team tries to keep its protection plan from unraveling before the season even begins. [Read more 🡒]