By the time the fourth quarter rolled around in Friday night's forgettable San Francisco 49ers preseason finale, most of the local media had probably already mentally checked out of the game. They were eager to get to head coach Kyle Shanahan's press conference. It wasn't to talk about the game, either.
Of the 17 questions asked by reporters, all but three had to do with the Trey Lance trade or the quarterback situation. The other three were about the kicker situation because Jake Moody and Zane Gonzalez are questionable for Week 1.
It was the first time Shanahan had spoken to local reporters since deciding to go with Sam Darnold over Lance for the QB2 job behind starter Brock Purdy. That news broke on Wednesday. Shanahan had spoken to reporters the day before and was not scheduled to talk to them again until after Friday's game.
Still, it caused a bit of a stir. Choosing Darnold over Lance was a big deal. It was big enough that Shanahan and Lance agreed that the quarterback should take Wednesday off and get his thoughts together.
"We were hoping that Trey was going to come to practice still, and I totally understood why he didn't," Shanahan said. "He asked if he could have it off because he was a little emotional and stuff, didn't want to be around the players like that. Totally understood that. But we were still hoping he would come."
Some of the media would have appreciated a little insight into the thought process behind the quarterback decision—a decision that led to the 49ers trading Lance to the Dallas Cowboys in exchange for a fourth-round draft pick. Some reporters were critical of the decision not to speak to them, which made it look like Shanahan and Lynch were avoiding the hard questions that would inevitably come.
Shanahan did join local radio affiliate KNBR immediately after Wednesday's practice to discuss the decision. Lynch would do the same the next morning. The coach thought that was enough. Reporters didn't see it that way. Also, there was a little snag—the Giants baseball game delayed the airing of Shanahan's interview.
"So I got on the radio show, and I talked about it for 20 minutes there," Shanahan explained. "That's what I felt good with because I thought if I talked about it there, you guys would get that information. Unfortunately, I found out that radio show was delayed because of a baseball game. They went in extra innings.
"So, you guys didn't find out until 4:30 (It was actually closer to 5:30 p.m.). So, if I [could have done] it over, I would've told you guys right away. But usually, when I do a radio show, you guys get that stuff pretty fast. So, I thought you guys had it, and I realized that you didn't until about 4:30."
The 49ers might have planned to have Lynch speak to reporters on Wednesday. The team put up a live stream link for a press conference with the general manager after practice but eventually took it down. Like Shanahan, Lynch didn't address local reporters until after Friday's game.
