49ers coach Kyle Shanahan has griped about starting the 2026 season in the Land Down Under. During a Friday press conference in Melbourne, Commissioner Roger Goodell just smiled and gave him a Vegemite sandwich.
Shanahan spoke repeatedly at the recent NFL annual meeting about the team’s season-opening game in Australia. He’s obviously not thrilled about a Week 1 game that includes such a long trip through so many time zones.
Especially since he believes the Rams specifically lobbied for the 49ers to be the opponent in Melbourne, in order to avoid having 49ers fans commandeer SoFi Stadium (again).
At the media held in connection with the September 10 here (September 11 there) game, Goodell shrugged at Shanahan’s concerns.
“Coaches have a focus on winning,” Goodell said. “That’s their number one job. And so Coach Shanahan is enthusiastic and a great football coach, but also someone who truly understands the importance of expanding our game globally. But his job is to win. His job is to play. And I always say coaches like to play at 1 o’clock and 4 o’clock — and don’t get in the way of that.
“So we’re gonna make it a great experience for the team. That’s one of the things we focus on, everybody here, and so many others have focused on, make it a great experience for everyone, the team included. When they go back, they’ve got to make sure that they’re able to continue the competitiveness, because this game is real. This counts. And they’ll go on to Week Two as soon as they leave here.”
It’s one thing to have a game moved out of the Sunday afternoon window. It’s another to have it moved to a different house on a different street in a different continent. Especially to start the season.
After the Thursday (Friday) game, both teams will travel home through 19 time zones. They’ll have a game the following Sunday. Unless one of them gets a Monday night game to cap Week 2 — and one of them absolutely should.
The fact that Shanahan dared to share his reasonable gripes publicly likely guarantees that one of them will. And that it will likely be the Rams.
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