How Kyle Shanahan Would Handle a 49ers Player Goal-Line Fumbling

Kyle Shanahan reveals how he would handle a 49ers player dropping the ball for a fumble before crossing the goal-line.

Sep 28, 2025; Santa Clara, California, USA; San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan walks off of the field after the game against the Jacksonville Jaguars at Levi's Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images | Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images

It is indefensible for a player to drop the ball before crossing the goal line for a touchdown. Thankfully, it hasn't happened to the San Francisco 49ers.

That costly error has occurred twice in the last two weeks. First, it was Indianapolis Colts' Adonai Mitchell, then it was Arizona Cardinals' Emari Demercado.

Both players cost their teams a win, but Arizona's head coach, Jonathan Gannon, was the most unprofessional. He was spotted yelling and hitting Demarcado on the sideline for the fumble

As a result, he was fined $100,000. On Wednesday, 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan was asked how he would handle that, and if he's reviewing it with the team.

How Kyle Shanahan would react to the bone-headed error

Sep 28, 2025; Inglewood, California, USA; Indianapolis Colts wide receiver Adonai Mitchell (10) drops the ball short of the goal line during the second half at SoFi Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images | Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

“No, I don't think much about how I'd react. I'd always react pretty much the same, as upset as I could possibly be with trying to internalize it all," Shanahan said. "But yeah, we show stuff guys, everyone does and stuff happens around the League. Most people do that. We didn't last week. We had a short week. We do around the League on Fridays. We didn't get a Friday."

There's no way Shanahan would do what Gannon did to Demercado. However, Shanahan would be animated on the sideline.

It's what he did when kicker Jake Moody was missing field goal attempts. If he were animated for three points missed, imagine how he'd react to a player forfeiting six points on a walk-in touchdown.

I'm confident Shanahan would've broken his headset if this ever happened..

To avoid that, the 49ers are wisely showing their players the boneheaded error. It's something Shanahan feels is an unfortunate necessity since it should be obvious not to drop the ball at the goal line.

Oct 5, 2025; Glendale, Arizona, USA; Arizona Cardinals running back Emari Demercado (31) runs the ball for 71 yards before fumbling against the Tennessee Titans during the fourth quarter at State Farm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Kartozian-Imagn Images | Matt Kartozian-Imagn Images

"You would think you don't need to show that. You would think [former NFL WR] DeSean [Jackson] covered that like 20 years ago. But surprisingly you need to cover it because it keeps happening. I have a pretty good feeling people did see it two weeks ago, so I have a feeling sometimes you cover things and it still happens."

Depending on the player, the 49ers would bench that player indefinitely. They would probably even cut them, which I believe is the only way to keep this nonsense from happening.

The bright side is that it happened to the Cardinals, leading to a loss. The 49ers will always be fans of a division rival losing, even if it's from self-inflicted plays.

Follow Jose on X (Twitter) @JS3sanchez_to interact with him on the 49ers.

---