Kyle Shanahan meets with local reporters, admits fault in car accident

Much has been made about how the story of Kyle Shanahan’s serious car accident earlier this month has been reported. On Tuesday, the San Francisco 49ers head coach met directly with reporters to set the record straight.

According to 49ers beat reporter Grant Cohn, Shanahan called a group of local reporters into his office on Tuesday to explain the circumstances of his accident, which occurred on July 14. Per Cohn, Shanahan informed the reporters that he was at fault for the crash, setting the record straight on previous reporting that suggested it was the other driver at fault.

ESPN’s Adam Schefter subsequently reported that the California Highway Patrol made “a clerical error attributing the accident to the other driver.” Schefter says Shanahan “took [his] eyes off the road briefly to find his phone, which fell between seats and when he looked up he had gone over the line and into an SUV.”

News of Shanahan’s July 14 accident did not become public until July 15, when the 49ers organization and ESPN, led by Schefter, a close family friend of the Shanahans, published a coordinated statement and report. In its statement, the 49ers explained that Shanahan would miss portions of training camp as he continued his recovery. Schefter’s report, published just one minute after the 49ers’ statement, included details about the crash and the injuries Shanahan sustained.

The incident raised questions about how outlets and reporters should handle information in these scenarios. Prominent voices like Dan Patrick and Mike Florio ridiculed ESPN and Schefter for keeping the information private until the 49ers made an announcement, when it was clear that Schefter had obtained the information prior. Schefter defended himself, saying the “49ers did a great job of keeping things quiet,” and that other reporters knew but chose not to publish a story given the sensitivity of the situation.

Shanahan choosing to call reporters into his office on Tuesday adds another wrinkle to the story. Clearly, Shanahan has fostered a strong enough relationship with the local media in San Francisco that some reporters seemingly had knowledge of the situation but chose not to publish information about it anyway. Perhaps this was Shanahan’s way of signaling to people that he has nothing to hide, that he’s willing to own the situation. Unfortunately for Shanahan, it’s a less convincing move to pull after the fact about his cell phone usage was revealed.