"I thought I was going to hate him because I hated him when he was in Seattle," long-time San Francisco 49ers tackle Joe Staley admitted last year while discussing what it was like to suddenly have one-time rival Richard Sherman as a teammate. "He was just one of those guys that kind of got under your skin."
Many 49ers fans could relate.
Even for the most die-hard fan, there were mixed emotions after hearing that Sherman had crossed from the dark side to the light. Fans were used to hating the bitter rival. How could they ever grow to love a seemingly arrogant player who had been a thorn in their sides for years.
Fast forward two seasons and Sherman has become a fan-favorite. It started during his recovery from the Achilles injury that eventually ended his time with the Seattle Seahawks. Sherman, unable to practice as he rehabbed, showed off his work ethic by taking on an unofficial coaching role and working with the younger defensive backs.
Then he took the field and, despite playing through discomfort, was among the best of the team's defensive players.
Today, Sherman still stands out among a much-improved defense. He has also earned the respect of the majority of the fan base.
The Faithful weren't the only ones who had trouble accepting the idea of Sherman in red and gold. Apparently, it was a bit of a transition for head coach Kyle Shanahan, too.
Shanahan's view of Sherman changed after the coach and his wife sat down with the freshly released free agent and his wife-to-be just hours after the Seahawks parted ways with the veteran defender on March 9, 2018. The next day, Sherman was a Forty-Niner.
Shanahan joined KNBR on Thursday and admitted that there are probably a lot of people around the league who do not like Sherman. The 49ers head coach, along with others like Staley, was among that group until he got to know Sherman personally.
"That was the first night I had met him," Shanahan told Guy Haberman and John Middlekauff. "My wife and I went, and I think we ended up staying at dinner for like three to four hours.
"I always tell him to this day (that) I didn't like him that much going in because he's talked so bad to teams, to me, to players I was with. I've always been the guy going against him, trying to [beat] him. So he was always irritating me more than anything.
"Then to go to dinner with him and really see who he is and what he's like, we had as much fun as we could have. He was extremely real, said everything how you guys would expect.
"You knew what type of guys he was from one dinner, especially watching the way he played his whole career, and I was just hoping he could get healthy."
Shanahan admits that his respect for Sherman grew further after watching him fight through not just injury, but a losing season during his first year with the team. Sherman, after all, was used to winning. Even as the losses piled up, he didn't lose faith in Shanahan's plan and what the 49ers were building.
Of course, Haberman and Middlekauff wanted some more details on what Sherman would say that got under Shanahan's skin in the years leading to the union with the 49ers.
The coach laughed before answering the question.
"Just telling me how much trash I was, and everyone else," Shanahan responded. "And how we couldn't beat him, and to quit challenging him. And I would say it right back to him, tell him we were coming at him. It was fun.
"I remember the first time I tried to say something to him, I didn't know who he was. He was a rookie. He didn't hear me. I'm glad he didn't because I didn't know who I was saying it to, at the time.
"I don't like a lot of attention drawn to me, especially as a coach on the sidelines, especially as a coordinator, and I bet if he would have heard me, knowing Sherm, he would have stopped, and it would have been a big deal.
"I quickly realized at the end of the year, like, 'Alright, that's a guy I probably shouldn't talk to during the game.'"
You can listen to the entire conversation with Shanahan below.
