For the first time in years, San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan will be able to guide his team through a full offseason. On Friday morning, general manager John Lynch shared his observations about Shanahan's enthusiasm for this earlier-than-normal chance to regroup.
"I can tell you that, while this is not a place that anyone wants to be, I feel a lot of excitement from Kyle," Lynch said, "the opportunity to have a whole offseason, as opposed to a very expedited one because you've played in the Super Bowl, where you can really focus on, 'Okay, what is at the root?'"
The 49ers have had a challenging season. Heading into Week 18, they own a 6-10 record and are eliminated from playoff contention, breaking a streak of deep postseason runs. Injuries and costly mistakes have marred the campaign, but Shanahan views this early offseason as a chance to reassess and correct flaws.
Shanahan spoke to reporters after Friday's practice, as the team prepared for its season finale against the Arizona Cardinals. While he acknowledged his disappointment in missing the playoffs, he also admitted there is a silver lining.
"I'd be much more excited to not have one (a full offseason), and to go all the way to February again, but that is tough," Shanahan admitted. "When you go that long, everyone needs to get away. And by the time you come back, that's usually right when free agency is starting, and you're not totally quite there yet.
"So it's gonna be our first time since, I think, Covid being off in January, and it gives you more time to figure things out. It gives you time to go through the things like the cut-ups and stuff. You can finish most of that stuff all before the Super Bowl. And then, you're ready to go to other stuff like the draft and free agency and all that as soon as the Super Bowl ends."
For Shanahan and Lynch, the work toward the 2025 season begins Monday rather than the typical late January or February start date. The focus will be on returning the 49ers to championship form while navigating key salary cap decisions.
"Just being a lot more ahead of that is real exciting, and I'm ready to get to it," Shanahan continued. "We've been knowing we're out of the playoffs here for a little bit, and everything's about finishing this year up the right way, and not cutting anything short, finishing your job. But I've also been able to look to when I can start improving next year and making sure we're not in this position again."
