Shanahan, known for his ‘blatant honesty,’ admits that he is at responsible for the failed zero-blitz call.
The contentious zero-blitz play call that Steve Wilks made at the end of the first half of the 49ers’ loss against the Minnesota Vikings late Monday night was still a topic of discussion four days later.
The play call that Wilks made that ultimately resulted in a score for the Vikings was brought up once more when Kyle Shanahan talked to the media on Friday.
The 49ers are trying to put their defeat to the Vikings behind them as they prepare for their game against the Cincinnati Bengals.
When responding to a question regarding the conversations that went place between both coaches this week, Shanahan placed the burden for the call squarely on his own shoulders a day after Wilks accepted the full blame for the play.
“Just about football, but the fact that it happened,” Shanahan stated to the reporters on Friday at Santa Clara.
That we were unable to make that decision is entirely due to a problem with time, and I take full responsibility for that.
Because I am the only one who can put a stop to that, the ultimate blame for everything rests squarely on my shoulders.
But when I was questioned about the call two days earlier, he already knew that we couldn’t make it off of time, and I made the mistake of not calling for a timeout, so we weren’t able to make the call.
Regarding the work that we do, however, I did not have any issues with the call. I really enjoy going full speed ahead.
Simply put, there is nothing you can do about it at that moment in time. Therefore, we continue to talk in this manner. Only discuss football and leave anything else out.
“I think one thing hopefully everyone has realized especially appreciates here in the Bay Area especially 49ers fans: Faithful, where they’re at, they’ve got a head coach who is one of the most bluntly honest people you’ll ever meet,” according to Lynch.
“If you could have been in our internal meeting room, we would have told you and everyone of our team would have told you how much belief he had in Steve, and that was transmitted to you as well.
However, both of these things could be true. You could have a lot of faith in something, but still disagree with a particular call.
Even on the quote that was removed because he really shouldn’t have called it, there was a lot of background information on why Steve could have done that, the series of events that led up to it, and the fact that he does have a lot of believe and all those other things.
Wilks has been subjected to a significant amount of criticism for that decision, which was right away punished as Minnesota’s the rookie wide receiver Jordan Addison snatched the puck away from 49ers corner Charvarius Ward’s and raced in for his second land of the night. This score put the Vikings up 16-7 in a game that they ultimately won 22-17.
“I am aware that we have some good players, but I can’t really push the issue any further.” In the future, it will be my job to carry out such actions. I really wish I could undo what I just did, but I know I have to get better.
“Our players have demonstrated that they are capable of doing certain things, and in order for me to be ready to trust that, I need to be able to rely on it.
I am fully aware of what we own as well as the quality of the men who are present, and I accept whole the obligation of putting those men in those positions.
While Wilks admitted that he was guilty of pushing things too far, Kyle Shanahan, the head coach, also shown accountability during his weekly interview on KNBR.
Shanahan, who argued that the decision was an improper one because the Vikings would not possess the time to spike the puck after a completion, stated that “it’s finally up to me.”
I mean, I did hear that, and I could have put a timeout on the situation and adjusted it, but I didn’t.”
The error committed by Wilks was not the only mistake made by the 49ers in their worst performance in what has been a remarkable start of the season despite the fact that it was their poorest performance.
By accepting responsibility for their respective portions of the problem, Wilks and Shanahan have offered the appropriate reaction.
Now that the 49ers have played a challenging game against the Bengals, who have the same goals for this season as San Francisco does, the primary concern is making sure there aren’t any further emotions of remorse as they head into their bye week in Week 9.