For most coaches, the issue of player concussions requires sympathy. Moving forward, 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan will easily be able to empathize with players who have suffered head trauma.
In his first training-camp press conference following a July 11 automobile accident, Shanahan was asked if the severe concussion that he sustained will change his perspective on players who are dealing with the effects of brain injuries.
“Yeah, no doubt,” Shanahan said. “I’ve been told so much by these guys, don’t compare a sports concussion to an accident like this. I’m starting to realize that now. Just little things, like when they label things, like whether it’s severe or mild. You hear someone has a mild one, I’m like, ‘Oh, alright. It might be one game, but usually that’s two.’ Then you kind of learn those are just words. Each one’s a little bit different. I definitely can relate to how scary it is when you don’t know if you will feel right again. It’s definitely made me more educated on it. Usually I just listen, and like, ‘Tell me when, OK?’ and I move on, but I understand it a lot better and what guys got to go through and the protocol to get back. There’s not a protocol for me on paper, but it’s really cool to be in a profession that knows what to do with those things. All the people that I need help from, it was already built in here. They’ve got a lot of experience with it, and it’s been really good for me.”
If anything, players need to be encouraged to not return until they’re fully back to normal. Some players will try to hide their symptoms. Some will resist being evaluated. Some will tank the baseline cognitive exams so that it will be easier to be cleared to return. (Peyton Manning once admitted to doing that, before walking it back as a joke.)
Starting in 2009, when Congress got involved in the issue of brain health, the NFL began to take concussions very seriously. For the most part, it does. (There are still periodic lapses in the concussion-spotting process.)
Moving forward, Shanahan will have a better understanding of the challenges created by a concussion. And while very few players use a concussion as a crutch to avoid practicing and/or playing, Shanahan could be a valuable resource when it comes to encouraging players to take their time.
It also could make him less likely to allow a player to lose his prior spot in the depth chart due to missing time because of a head injury.
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