Maybe the bromance is over.
San Francisco 49ers Coach Kyle Shanahan wants to set the record straight about his relationship with his former University of Texas teammate and current NBC Sports analyst Chris Simms.
According to Shanahan, there is no relationship because there is no communication.
“Chris talks about everything, which is why I haven’t talked to him in a couple years.”
This is a bit of a shocking revelation given that the two have tattoos of each other’s initials (a college escapade) and were best friends at least according to Simms.
“We’re best friends, and we’ll be best friends for life. We hit it off from day one. We had a common bond in that our fathers” — Phil Simms and Denver Broncos coach Mike Shanahan, respectively have been such a big part of the NFL for a long time.”
Shanahan Was A Guest On Simms’ Podcast
In fact, he was the first guest on Simms’ podcast back in March 2019.
Using Shanahan’s “couple years” math, perhaps this is the last time they spoke.
They certainly seemed friendly, as you would expect college friends and teammates to be.
What Is This About?
Cutting to the chase, it seems that Chris Simms knows his friend well and has been talking about who Shanahan wants now that the 49ers made the bold move to jump up nine spots in the draft.
Kyle Shanahan gets the most out of QBs who trust his system and make the right reads:
Matt Schaub 2009 passing champ
Kirk Cousins w Wash
Matt Ryan 2016 MVPMac Jones is an ideal QB for that mold, more on par with Ryan
— Chris Simms (@CSimmsQB) March 29, 2021
The fact that Chris Simms is saying without hesitation that the 49ers are taking Alabama’s Mac Jones obviously is not sitting well with Shanahan.
To be fair, the 49ers own actions are increasing the speculation.
GM John Lynch and Coach Kyle Shanahan are going to the Alabama Pro Day on Tuesday, March 30, 2021 to watch Mac Jones.
Ohio State’s Pro Day featuring Justin Fields is happening at the same time, but Lynch and Shanahan are opting to watch Jones instead.
This is significant because Fields will presumably be available at the third spot assuming Lawrence goes to Jacksonville and Wilson goes to the Jets.
Mac Jones Talks About The 49ers
Jones did not shy away from talking about the 49ers.
“I’ve watched a lot of their tape. The 49ers run a lot of wide zone. They also have a great fullback so they can run power. They do a bunch of good play-pass off of that. Outside zone, sprint-out stuff. Their drop-back passing is very similar to what we did with Coach Sark, with some of their motions they use… That’s all stuff I’m really familiar with. They have a lot of playmakers and I’m really looking forward to learning more about that.”
All eyes will be on the San Francisco 49ers as they make the third overall pick of the NFL Draft one month from now.
We will see if Chris Simms was correct in his prediction that Mac Jones will be a San Francisco 49er.
The 2021 NFL Draft starts on April 29 and runs through May 1; it is being held in Cleveland, Ohio.
NEXT: Could The 49ers Be Interested In Mac Jones At No.3?