The air felt different in Santa Clara as the San Francisco 49ers opened their first on-field organized team activity (OTA) practice of 2025. Energy was high, and for the first time in months, hope seemed to quietly rise alongside the California sun.
But beneath that optimism lay the shadow of a 6-11 season—one that head coach Kyle Shanahan still isn’t quite done processing.
Kyle Shanahan Reflects on 49ers’ Mindset After Disappointing 2024 Season
Shanahan first noticed a shift at the very beginning of the offseason program. Not from something he enforced, but from something he had said at the close of a bitter season. The weight of the team’s early exit after years of deep postseason runs still lingered.
In his words, “The way I addressed it the most, was at our last meeting in January… I felt guys weren’t ready to come back and I understood that.”
The 49ers had become accustomed to short offseasons after multiple playoff campaigns. But after the 2024 collapse, they had five extra weeks to reflect. Shanahan used this rare window to challenge the team’s mentality. “We’re off five weeks earlier, we all know how disappointed we are,” he recalled. “And a lot of us have played a lot of football here.”
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The offseason wasn’t just a reset—it was a transformation. Several veterans departed in free agency, and 11 rookies arrived through the 2025 NFL Draft. The locker room now includes many who haven’t experienced the franchise’s recent highs—or the pain of falling just short. That gap in experience, Shanahan believes, must be bridged through action, not reputation. “We are going to have a team that doesn’t know what we’ve done in the past… We need to show them.”
And so, Shanahan made his expectations clear: everyone needed to show up. Not just physically, but mentally. “I thought the coolest thing was everyone being there on the first day,” he said. “I didn’t have to call anyone and beg them… and they’ve all been working.”
Veterans like Fred Warner and George Kittle took the lead early. Warner’s energy and vocal presence were already setting the tone for the defense, while Kittle offered technical advice to the new tight ends. It was just one open practice, but it hinted at a deeper shift—the kind that starts with accountability, not declarations.
Shanahan’s final meeting in January wasn’t just a wrap-up—it was the spark for what he hopes is a complete cultural refresh. Whether this renewed mindset translates to success remains to be seen. But if full offseason attendance is any indication, the 49ers have already taken their first step in making sure 2025 isn’t a repeat of the year before.