Kyle Shanahan’s return to the 49ers depends on one thing above all else: when the symptoms from his severe concussion finally clear.
That part is still a mystery. Eleven days after the accident, Shanahan is dealing with a severe concussion along with a broken nose, a broken hand, three broken ribs and a laceration on his face that needed 40 stitches. The head injury is the one keeping him away from coaching, and even now there’s no firm timetable for when he’ll be back.
To get a better read on what “severe” actually means, a doctor was consulted, and the answer was sobering. In this case, the doctor said, Shanahan most likely lost consciousness for a period of time after the accident.
Recovery can swing wildly from one patient to the next: out of 100 people with severe concussions, 10 percent would fully recover in a week, while another 10 percent still wouldn’t be fully recovered a year later. That leaves Shanahan’s timeline wide open - maybe a few weeks, maybe the whole season.
The doctor also laid out the symptoms Shanahan is likely to face during recovery. Fatigue, memory loss, headaches and trouble concentrating are all on the list. He could feel fine for a stretch while resting, then run into trouble again once he starts trying to focus and do the work his job demands.
There’s also one clear warning: no alcohol while he’s recovering. The doctor said drinking would slow the process down, and Shanahan may also need strong pain medication for the headaches, which makes following medical advice even more important.
When he does come back, the doctor said there’s one thing to watch closely: how he speaks. If his speech is slower than usual or he starts using smaller words than he normally would, that could be a sign he still isn’t ready to coach.
For now, nobody can say exactly when Shanahan will be ready. Not Shanahan, not the 49ers and not their doctors.
The good news for San Francisco is that the team should be able to manage the short term. Training-camp installations are usually scripted weeks before camp begins, and those should already be in place. Shanahan also gives the team a daily 30-minute speech, but beyond that, the 49ers have veterans who can help keep things moving while he’s out.
The club also canceled minicamp last month, which suggests it doesn’t feel like it needs a heavy dose of extra preparation. Even so, there’s only one person in the organization who can do what Shanahan does once the season starts, and that’s Shanahan himself.
That’s why his absence would matter so much. The 49ers have a good backup quarterback, which is why his missing time would be more damaging than Brock Purdy getting hurt, according to the source.
The schedule only adds another layer. San Francisco’s season opener is in Melbourne, Australia, a 16-hour flight from San Jose. That raises obvious questions about whether Shanahan will be physically able to handle the trip without triggering concussion symptoms, whether he can coach the preseason games before then and whether the 49ers can get by against the Los Angeles Rams without him.
If Shanahan is still out by Week 1, the interim head coach would be offensive line coach Chris Foerster, with Klay Kubiak handling offensive play-calling. In that scenario, the 49ers would effectively be without their head coach.
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