Shanahan apologizes for tantrum at officials
‘I was just frustrated,’ he said, while hoping a fine isn’t next
Kyle Shanahan apologized, and he did so in a much calmer tone than he showed Sunday in his debut as the 49ers coach.
What he apologized for was screaming at a sideline official who didn’t hear him yell — three times — for a timeout in the third quarter of the 49ers 23-3 loss to the Carolina Panthers.
Instead, officials saw the play clock expire, issued a delay-of-game penalty on fourth-and-1 from the Panthers’ 21-yard line and prompted Shanahan to change course, opting not to go for it offensively and instead settle for a 44yard field goal.
Video and photo of Shanahan screaming quickly made its way into the web’s viral universe.
It was Shanahan’s first true temper tantrum as 49ers coach, not that it shocked him.
“No, I didn’t surprise myself. I’ve made that mistake before,” Shanahan said Monday. “And if (the side judge) was here, I would apologize to him now.
“He’s trying to do his best just like I am. I was just frustrated,” Shanahan said. “I wanted a timeout and I yelled it as loud as I could three times and he just didn’t hear me. I was mad at him for it. It’s not his fault. He’s focused on the game, too. Hope he has no hard feelings towards it.”
And Shanahan hopes the league doesn’t fine him like it did in 2012, when he got levied $25,000 for pursuing replacement officials off the field as Washington’s offensive coordinator.
“I’ve been fined before. You can Google it,” Shanahan said. “I’ve learned the hard way, so I try not to (argue).
“But, I’ve got a lot of respect for those guys. They take their job as seriously as I take mine and we treat it all almost life-and-death. Sometimes I’m not going to always have the best reactions when I’m upset about something, but it’s definitely not personal.”
The 49ers next play Sunday at Seattle, where they haven’t won since 2011 or in their past six visits. Jim Harbaugh lost his last four games there as 49ers coach — including the 2013 season’s NFC Championship game — while Jim Tomsula’s 2015 team fell 29-13 and Chip Kelly’s 2016 try yielded a 37-18 rout.
• With Reuben Foster out of action for an undetermined amount of time with a high ankle sprain, the 49ers reportedly brought in two linebackers for a workout. ESPN’s Field Yates reported Tuesday afternoon that Sean Spence and Donald Butler were brought in by the team.
Butler, 28, has played 85 games over six seasons. Spence, 27, played 46 games in the first four years of his NFL career, most recently playing 15 games for Tennessee in 2016. Spence, who had three sacks and 35 tackles last season with the Titans, was cut by the Indianapolis Colts on Sept. 2.
49ers coach Kyle Shanahan said Monday that Foster’s ankle will be put in a stabilizing boot and speculated that the rookie linebacker might have to miss about a month.