The San Francisco 49ers went through classroom training and physical team-building exercises with the veteran Navy SEALs of APG when the team reported to its offseason program in April. It wasn't just the players going through the program. Everyone was involved, according to linebacker Eli Harold. That included head coach Kyle Shanahan, general manager John Lynch, the coaching staff, and members of the front office.
"The coaches did it with us," Harold told team reporter Joe Fann during the 49ers Studios Podcast. "The general manager was out there. [Lynch] was out there doing everything. Kyle Shanahan, every coach, every member, everyone that works with John, everyone was out there."
Everyone's willingness to take part in the program spoke volumes to Harold and his teammates.
"It means a lot," he said. "It shows you what kind of organization we have."
Working with the veteran Navy SEALs of APG is something that Shanahan brought over from his time with the Atlanta Falcons. As a late head coaching hire last year, Shanahan didn't feel there was enough time to do it during his first offseason with the 49ers.
"Going into our second year, I think our team is much more ready for this," Shanahan said via the San Francisco Chronicle.
What did Harold think of the exercises designed to promote brotherhood and strengthen mental toughness?
"Man, it was fun," the linebacker said. "It was so intense."
Harold went on to describe what he took away from working with the veteran Navy SEALs of APG.
"To get comfortable being uncomfortable," he said. "To know when you push yourself to that limit, when your body is just burning, you're just done, you can do a little bit more. Finding that and translating that from their training to the field, I feel like it's going to be what separates us from most teams this year.
"I feel like everyone is going to buy into that because doing their training, we all were there, and we learned how to push through it."
You can listen to the entire interview with Harold, which includes his thoughts on Avengers: Infinite War, here.