Shanahan embraces Australia trip: 'right place, right time' — SkimNews
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- Kyle Shanahan reversed his March stance on the Australia trip at his Monday press conference in Melbourne, calling it 'the right time, right place, and the right team to go against' after voicing frustration about giving up a Rams home game at March league meetings.
- The San Francisco 49ers arrived in Melbourne early Friday morning to adjust to the 17-hour time difference, with players attending an Australian Football League game at Melbourne Cricket Ground before having Sunday free time to explore the city.
- Running back Christian McCaffrey called the trip 'such a cool experience,' saying 'the people are unbelievable, the food's incredible, the coffee's great' and that players were 'super fired up' despite initial question marks about playing in Australia.
- Shanahan leaned into jet-lag humor, noting the 49ers are 'technically in the future' because the Rams don't leave for Australia until later in the week, and joking 'Don't ever make me do that again' while trying to reconcile game-plan days with calendar days.
- Shanahan consulted his father Mike Shanahan, who coached the Denver Broncos in a 1999 preseason game against the Chargers in Sydney, though Kyle said he was jealous because a preseason game carried 'nowhere near' the stakes of a Week 1 divisional matchup.
- Shanahan said he had only managed a 30-minute walk around Melbourne and was surprised by the lack of wildlife, laughing: 'I was expecting to see kangaroos and crocodiles everywhere. It looks like a very normal, cool city.'
Why it matters: Shanahan's about-face from March frustration to effusive Monday praise suggests the NFL's international expansion is winning over its most skeptical stakeholder — the head coach. The 49ers arriving days before the Rams for a 17-hour time-zone adjustment could also give San Francisco a subtle acclimation edge in a Week 1 divisional game that typically sets the tone for both teams' seasons.
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