Jimmy G enjoys Super Bowl LIV spotlight
Ex-Patriots backup tells of lessons learned in New England
MIAMI — Jimmy Garoppolo entered opening night festivities at Marlins Park with his 49ers teammates and took his spot on one of the featured podiums. It was a much different view from the last two times his team was in the Super Bowl.
Jimmy G now sits in the high-rent district. When he was with the Patriots, he was out on the floor, mingling with reporters, while Tom Brady got preferred seating.
“Yeah, the last time I was here, it was much different. I was out there, getting swarmed and everything,” Garoppolo said, referring to his spot on the floor. “It’s crazy how life goes. You just gotta roll with it.”
Garoppolo spent four seasons as Brady’s understudy, earning two Super Bowl rings in the process before he was traded. He’s hoping to apply all the lessons he learned from Brady, Patriots coach Bill Belichick and offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels on Sunday night against the Chiefs.
Asked the biggest thing he learned from his time in New England, what might help prepare him for this game, Garoppolo pointed to Belichick.
“I think it was a culmination of everything I learned there, and how to apply it to the game plan,” he said. “Coach Belichick was always big on working hard, every day counts. I tried to take it over to San Francisco and apply it there. I think we have a great group of guys that just apply it naturally.”
Does he see some parallels between the Niners and those championship Patriot teams?
“Yeah, in some spots. With the Patriots, we always had a strong defense, very similar to us here. But the teams are very different,” he said. “The players on the team make the team a little different. We have a different group of guys here. They’re fun to be around.”
Shanahan revisits trade
Niners head coach Kyle Shanahan took reporters for a bit of a behind-the-scenes look at the Halloween trade in 2017 that brought him Garoppolo for a secondround pick. It started with a call from Belichick.
“It caught me off-guard because I knew that wasn’t a possibility earlier in the year,” he said, “And then when it happened two days before the trade deadline, it was very surprising because it wasn’t like we were in talks up to that point. We checked on it earlier in the year and it wasn’t an option.”
Shanahan continued: “The day before, we got killed by a team — I think it was Philly — so I was pretty down about that, came in, was able to talk to Bill and find out that news. It threw me off for a little bit. But once I really thought we could put it together and figure it out, it took about 10 minutes of John (Lynch) and I talking and we agreed with it.
“And we’re very glad that phone call happened.”
Asked if Belichick explained why it was just for a second-rounder, Shanahan indicated he didn’t provide any answers.
“That’s how the dialogue went. You’d have to ask him that. Good luck with that,” he said wryly.
Harvard in the house
Niners fullback Kyle Juszczyk went to college at Harvard. In 2013, the Ivy Leaguer became the first fullback drafted from Harvard and only the 10th player in school history to be drafted. He was chosen by the Baltimore Ravens. In 2017, he signed a free-agent deal with the Niners.
“I always love to represent (Harvard). I had a ton of pride playing there,” said Juszczyk. “I played with a lot of good players there, as well. So to be a guy that came up in that system, made it to the NFL, I’m extremely proud.”