49ers coach Shanahan gets deal through 2025
The 49ers rewarded coach Kyle Shanahan with a new sixyear contract Monday after he took the team to the Super Bowl in his third season.
The Niners are replacing the three years left on Shanahan’s original sixyear contract signed in 2017 to keep him under contract through 2025. ESPN first reported the extension.
The 49ers won just 10 games in Shanahan’s first two seasons before a breakthrough in 2019. The Niners went 133, then went to the Super Bowl. They blew a late 10point lead against Kansas City and lost 3120.
But Shanahan, 40, brought needed stability to the Niners who went through three coaches in three seasons before his arrival. He and general manager John Lynch have worked to overhaul the roster into one of the NFL’s deepest.
Goodell urges teams to sign Kaepernick
Roger Goodell would like to see Colin Kaepernick back in the NFL this season.
The NFL commissioner said during ESPN’s “The Return of Sports” special that he is encouraging teams to sign the 32yearold quarterback, who hasn’t played since 2016. Kaepernick was a 49er when he knelt during the national anthem to protest racial injustice.
“If he wants to resume his career in the NFL, then obviously it’s gonna take a team to make that decision. I welcome that,” the NFL commissioner said during his interview with ESPN’s Mike Greenberg.
Goodell set up a tryout for Kaepernick in Atlanta last year for scouts of all 32 teams to attend, but it unraveled at the last moment due to lack of media access and what Kaepernick’s representatives saw as an unusual liability waiver.
The NFL released a video on June 5 in which Goodell apologized for the league not doing a good job of listening to concerns by players on racial inequality. Goodell was roundly criticized for not mentioning Kaepernick during the apology.
Dallas Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott tested positive for the coronavirus, according to his agent. Rocky Arceneaux told the NFL Network that Elliott was feeling OK. Soccer: The Champions League final is heading to Lisbon, with UEFA planning an Aug. 23 final to cap seven broadcast nights in a 12day span of elite European teams playing knockout soccer. UEFA’s executive committee must OK the plan Wednesday.
The Philadelphia Union of MLS announced that Brooklyn Nets forward and former Warrior Kevin Durant has joined its ownership group. Durant, a 10time NBA AllStar, has a 5% ownership stake, with an option for 5% more in the near future.
WNBA: The league announced plans to play a reduced season, with a 22game schedule that would begin in late July at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla., without fans because of the coronavirus pandemic.