San Francisco 49ers assistant head coach and offensive line coach Chris Foerster will step into the lead role as interim head coach while Kyle Shanahan recovers from injuries sustained in a recent car accident.
Speaking to reporters on Saturday, general manager John Lynch emphasized that Foerster's assistant head coach title wasn't the deciding factor in the selection. Instead, the 49ers chose him because of his extensive NFL experience, long-standing relationship with Shanahan, and deep understanding of how the head coach operates.
Foerster is the ideal person to maintain continuity during the head coach's absence.
"Chris Foerster, been in the NFL for 34 seasons, 13 of those with Kyle," Lynch said. "He knows Kyle inside and out, what Kyle wants, what Kyle needs."
A collaborative approach
While Foerster will oversee the team, Lynch stressed that the 49ers won't rely on one person to replace Shanahan. Instead, the coaching staff will operate collectively until Shanahan returns.
Foerster will lean on offensive coordinator Klay Kubiak, defensive coordinator Raheem Morris, and special teams coordinator Brant Boyer, each continuing to lead their respective units.
"We're going to give the duties of actually running the team over to some [guys other than Shanahan], and we have a really good plan," Lynch said.
The 49ers have tremendous confidence in Foerster and the rest of the coaching staff. They believe the organization won't miss a beat during the temporary transition, which will hopefully be evident when players take the field on Sunday for their first practice of training camp.
Team meetings will look different
For now, Foerster will become the public face of the coaching staff, but Lynch made it clear he won't attempt to imitate Shanahan's unique leadership style.
"He's going to be out front," Lynch said. "I'll address our team first, and then I'll hand it over to Chris. We'll probably do less team meetings because Kyle usually sits up here and talks football for 30 minutes. We're not going to try to replicate that.
"I believe our culture kind of speaks for itself, and we believe that our culture is the people, and Chris is one of those who we think very highly of. He's equipped to do this, our staff is equipped, but it will very much be a collective effort."
Lynch expects team meetings to become shorter and more streamlined until Shanahan returns. Rather than lengthy football discussions, meetings may simply cover the daily schedule before players and coaches split into their position groups.
If the team does hold film breakdowns, Foerster likely won't be the one leading them.
"I know Chris is kind of a grouchy guy," Lynch said. "He doesn't really believe in breakdowns and all that, so Raheem may do the breakdowns ... I think a lot of that will take care of itself."
That approach will allow Foerster, Kubiak, Morris, and Boyer to quickly return their attention to coaching their respective groups. Lynch also noted that Morris' previous head coaching experience will be especially valuable during this stretch.
"And when we need to come together, we'll come together," Lynch said. "That's what I mean by a well-oiled machine. When appropriate, we'll come together as a team. But a lot of it will just be, 'Alright, we'll miss that, but when Kyle's back, we'll get back to that.' And I think we're going to be fine."
Klay Kubiak's role won't change
The 49ers also don't anticipate significant changes on the offensive side of the ball.
Lynch shared that Kubiak likely would have handled play-calling during the preseason regardless of Shanahan's availability, as he has done in previous years. Kubiak also puts together the offensive plans during training camp practices, so his responsibilities will remain largely unchanged.
"In training camp, I think Klay typically is doing that," Lynch said. "Kyle will have suggestions, but Klay usually does the script along with the staff, so nothing different there. But ... in past preseasons, there's been times where [Shanahan] said, 'Klay, call it.'"
While Lynch can't say for sure what Shanahan's preseason plan might have been, he can guess that it would not have deviated much from previous years.
"I don't know what his plan was, but probably Klay was going to call the preseason, and Klay's certainly capable," Lynch added. "Klay's an excellent football coach, and we're fortunate to have him."
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