Despite the San Francisco 49ers’ 6-0 record, much of social media thought they saw discord between quarterback Brock Purdy head coach Kyle Shanahan during Monday night’s game against the Washington Commanders.
At one point in the game, Purdy could be heard turning to the sideline and yelling, “Hey Kyle!” on the game’s broadcast. That clip went viral, tallying over three million views in less than two days.
A social media clip of this exchange suggested that Purdy was frustrated Shanahan didn’t call the play in time.
Shanahan explained that this isn’t the case when addressing the media on Wedneday.
“Yeah, it’s actually not to call a play faster. It’s, ‘I need it again’, and it gets cutoff at 15 [seconds],” Shanahan said when asked about the reason for Purdy’s outburst.
“Sometimes no one can hear it.. I always call a play and I just walk, and think. I don’t always watch the huddle. A lot of times, Mac [Jones] or someone will say, ‘We didn’t get it, it was chopped’ or somebody yells, ‘Brock’s yelling at you’, which I can’t always hear. But I did hear him a couple times in this game, and I look up and try to do it again as long as it’s not past 15 seconds,” he added.
“Sometimes [Purdy will yell], and I don’t get the heads up till 16 [seconds], and I start to do it again, and he hears half the play call because it shuts off at 15.”
Shanahan, who is known as one of the best play-callers in football, was quick to set the record straight that he does not take too long to call plays.
This response also proves the only disconnect between coach and quarterback arrives when Shanahan gets cut off after 15 seconds.
