San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan continues to experience symptoms from the severe concussion he suffered in a July 14 car accident. On Saturday, Shanahan spoke to reporters for the first time since the incident and revealed that he is still dealing with headaches and fatigue.

That hasn't kept Shanahan from observing practices or helping the 49ers coaching staff evaluate film from those sessions.


Shanahan is making good progress and revealed that he plans to coach next week's preseason opener against the Tennessee Titans at Levi's Stadium.

"I'm doing the same stuff, guys," Shanahan said. "I just try not to come in here every single day because I feel if I did—I want to be able to pull off my normal routine, which is watching hours and hours of tape and getting to the walkthrough at night, being able to watch stuff after that.

"Eventually, I will get there. I would have told you I was there seven days ago, and they're like, 'Just chill. Wait to see how you feel tomorrow.' And then I wake up the next morning, I'm like, 'Damn, I'm glad I didn't say that,' because sometimes it's a good day, and then sometimes the next day is a little bit harder.

"But as far as the stuff that I think is the most important parts of my job, I've been doing that since day one."

Kyle Shanahan learned a valuable lesson from accident


Shanahan previously admitted that he was at fault for the accident. He tried to reach for his phone after it fell to the floor of his Tesla, causing the vehicle to drift into the lane of oncoming traffic.


Interestingly, Shanahan said his vehicle was in Autopilot mode, a feature he has typically placed a great deal of trust in. That has changed since the accident.

"When you're going at 20 miles an hour, and you're on Autopilot, yeah, I honestly have zero worries," Shanahan admitted. "I have so much trust in that stuff. And that was a good lesson that you can't ever have zero worries. But I think it definitely could be an example for a lot of people."

The 49ers head coach said he is angry with himself for putting himself in a situation that resulted in several broken bones in addition to the severe concussion.

"Anytime you cause an accident that could be avoided, you feel pretty stupid, especially when you have a chance to hurt someone else," Shanahan said. "I think you get mad when you get a ticket at yourself, so it was kind of the same. I think everyone's done—to a degree—what I've done, but dropping a phone and falling all the way to my back seat to where I have to fully take my eyes off the road, it's something that I normally wouldn't do.

"I've had Autopilot for nine years, so I'm pretty comfortable with it. Who knows what happened when I turned around, whether it malfunctioned or whether I knocked it off. That's something that I don't know yet. But regardless, it is always your fault, whether you're in Autopilot or not. You can't take your eyes off the road. It's a partnership driving—you don't just turn it over to a computer.


"And it's a good lesson, no matter how comfortable I am with that, that I believe someday could save my life or someone else's. It's really helped me have perspective on that stuff."

With Shanahan continuing to recover, the 49ers will have their head coach back on the sideline for their preseason opener if his progress continues as expected. San Francisco is scheduled to host the Titans next Thursday at Levi's Stadium.

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