As day 1 of the San Francisco 49ers training camp rolled in, head coach Kyle Shanahan was supposed to be right there with his team. Training. Coaching. And looking forward to a Super Bowl run. But instead, days before camp began, barely any of his players were aware of his car accident in Palo Alto, CA. But his dear friend, who was one of the first people to know about it, has now come on record to share some disturbing details.

“All of a sudden, one day, I get a text from Kyle’s wife, Mandy,” Chris Simms, Shanahan’s friend and former NFL quarterback, told Mike Florio on Pro Football Talk. “She texts me and my wife, and it’s like, ‘Oh no, Kyle’s been part of some horrible accident.’ And she sent us some pictures right off the bat, and it was like, ‘oh my gosh.’ But when you first see it, and it’s fresh, and some of the cuts are still wide open, I mean, it’s jarring.

“It’s jarring. He was this close to maybe losing his right eye. The scar is so big right here. And so all that stuff was just crazy to see, and of course, I’m thinking of my friend, but yeah, it’s tough. And he’s still battling with this concussion.”

The coach suffered three broken ribs, broke his nose and left hand, had a concussion, and got 40 stitches on his face.

The accident occurred on July 14 in Palo Alto when a black Tesla and a blue Mercedes collided near Alma Street and Hamilton Avenue. The dispatch audio reported one of the drivers “bleeding from the head.” Per Palo Alto Lt. Nicholas Martinez, only Shanahan got serious injuries, and the authorities found no impairment on either side.

As per Simms’ knowledge, the coach was returning from a chiropractic adjustment when the crash took place. He was immediately taken to a hospital, and per reports, no drugs or alcohol were involved in the accident. 

And because the injuries were so serious, Simms has offered a health update on PFT.

“He’s healing,” Simms said. “His face looks a whole lot better, but this concussion, of course, being a part of that kind of accident, is lingering, and it’s giving him issues, and he’s certainly still dealing with that.”

But the injuries aren’t just physical

Simms, while talking about Shanahan’s health, also mentioned how the coach was doing emotionally.

“I don’t think (Shanahan would) have any problem with me sharing this,” Simms mentioned. “It hit him hard, right? He was emotional about it, because he realized how close it was to being just a complete, utter disaster. Like, really, it was a disaster.

“But when you’re that part of that accident, like I said, he could have lost his right eye. It could have been a lot worse. He’s very concerned about the woman he got in the accident with and how she is and handling that situation. So, there’s just a lot there.”

Despite all this, Kyle Shanahan still made an effort to show up for training camp on Saturday. But he was only there for a short while. He was seen wearing a baseball cap and sunglasses. 

How will the 49ers help Kyle Shanahan?

There isn’t any protocol in the NFL for a staff member’s concussion. However, general manager John Lynch mentioned that they will treat the coach’s head injury the way a player is treated. Shanahan will be limited in training camp, and that brings us to another question: What happens to camp?

Offensive line coach Chris Foerster will be running things in his absence, with the help of the coordinators. Defensive coordinator Raheem Morris will also assist. Foerster calls it a “group effort,” and until Shanahan comes back, that effort will have to keep the 49ers afloat.

It goes without saying that the assistant coaches and coordinators will require their players’ full support.

Many 49ers players had no idea about the accident. That’s the kind of secrecy the incident was shrouded in. The 49ers kept it a secret until they could manage the situation and make it public. However,  linebacker Fred Warner was one of the first players to know about the incident. Shanahan’s wife had informed Warner’s wife.

“Of course my first reaction was just trying to make sure everybody’s good, everybody’s OK,” Warner mentioned. “Yeah, it was scary. Anytime you have a car accident, you just never know what the severity of it is. But luckily everyone seems to be on the up and up and doing well.”

However, Trent Williams had no idea and only found out about it through an ESPN article. And it wasn’t until Saturday that Lynch gathered all players to explain the situation. Now that it is done, the team will collectively focus on their training camp and making things easier for their HC when he finally returns.