Head coach Kyle Shanahan is making peace with the San Francisco 49ers‘ upcoming international trip to Melbourne, Australia, but he isn’t pretending he was happy about how the scheduling played out.
When asked on the Tom Tolbert Show whether he was more burdened by the raw travel time or the fact that the Los Angeles Rams specifically requested San Francisco as their opponent, Shanahan admitted both factored in.
Advertisement
But for Shanahan, the frustration comes down to math. As an NFC West team, the Niners play the Rams, the Seattle Seahawks, and the Arizona Cardinals twice a year, all three of which offer close-to-home divisional games that carry enormous weight in the standings and don’t require a lot of travel, relatively speaking. Shipping one of those to the other side of the world isn’t a neutral trade-off.
“We only get three close fights,” Shanahan said. “So, to get one of those taken away is tough. Just when you travel a lot… that stuff adds up.”
The 49ers will travel more than 38,000 miles this year, which is both a league-high for the season and an NFL record. That takes a toll on a team, especially when San Francisco doesn’t even get any rest advantages despite their schedule.
Advertisement
That said, Shanahan was quick to draw a line between venting and sulking. The mindset has already shifted toward business.
“We’re going to make the best of it,” he said. “We’re going to go kick ass and we’ll take over whatever the hell this stadium’s name is.”
This article originally appeared on Niners Wire: Kyle Shanahan explains another issue with 49ers’ Australia trip