San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan will return to the sideline for the team's first preseason game this week, months after a July car crash that resulted in broken ribs, a broken nose, a broken left hand, facial lacerations, and a concussion. Shanahan, who has taken responsibility for the accident, shared that the experience has provided him with a new perspective on Tesla's Autopilot feature and the impact of concussions.
"When you're going at 20 miles an hour and you're on autopilot, I honestly have zero worries," Shanahan said at a press conference. "I have so much trust in that stuff. That was a good lesson that you can't ever have zero worries. I think it definitely could be an example for a lot of people."
Shanahan, a Tesla owner for years, acknowledged that the crash has altered his view of the driving experience. He noted that he normally wouldn't take his eyes off the road for extended periods, even when using Autopilot. "Dropping a phone, it falling all the way to my back seat to where I have to fully take my eyes off the road, it's something that I normally wouldn’t do," he stated. "Who knows what happened when I turned around. Whether it malfunctioned or whether I knocked it off, that's something I don't know yet."
He emphasized that regardless of the technology, driver responsibility remains paramount. "But regardless, it is always your fault, whether you're on autopilot or not. You can't take your eyes off the road. It's a partnership driving. You don't just turn it over to a computer," Shanahan explained. "It's a good lesson, no matter how comfortable I am with that, that I believe someday could save my life or someone else's."
Despite his return to coaching duties, Shanahan is still managing lingering effects from the concussion, reporting headaches and fatigue. He mentioned that noise, which previously affected him, is no longer as challenging. "AC/DC hurt a lot more than some smoother hip-hop, but I think those days are over," he said. "Noise doesn't bother me like it was. I actually have two symptoms, I feel like, and that's headaches and fatigue. That's all I'm feeling right now."
The car crash has also influenced Shanahan's view on concussions experienced by his players. While not directly involved in clearing players through the NFL's concussion protocol, he stated he "no doubt" has a new perspective on the severity and impact of head injuries.
"Just little things, like when they label things, like whether it's severe or mild," Shanahan said. "You hear someone has a mild one, I'm like, ‘Oh, alright. It might be one game, but usually that's two.’ Then you kind of learn those are just words. Each one's a little bit different." He added, "I definitely can relate to how scary it is when you don't know if you will feel right again. It's definitely made me more educated on it. Usually I just listen, and like, ‘Tell me when, OK,’ and I move on. But I understand it a lot better and what guys got to go through the protocol to get back."