Kyle Shanahan Explains 49ers’ Decision to Fly to Australia a Week Early

It makes perfect sense.

Aug 13, 2026; Santa Clara, California, USA; San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan watches the scoreboard prior to a game against the Tennessee Titans at Levi's Stadium. Mandatory Credit: David Gonzales-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

In a week, the San Francisco 49ers will be flying to Australia to kick off the 2026 season against the Los Angeles Rams.

It’s a game the 49ers dreaded from the moment it was announced early in the offseason. They have zero interest in flying roughly 16 hours to play a game. Thankfully, they’ll have time to acclimate to Australia.

They’re flying out a week before their game, which is extremely wise. The 49ers should be accustomed to the time zone, which is a 17-hour time difference going forward, and the climate, if it poses any significant impact.

However, unlike the 49ers, the Rams plan to arrive the day before the game. Both teams are taking contrasting approaches to the game. On Tuesday, Kyle Shanahan was asked why the 49ers chose to travel a week early to Australia.

“I would love to just show up the day before and just play, but I'm not the best when it comes to the science and everything on that stuff,” Shanahan said. “So, you ask people who've done it a number of times, you ask people who study it, you take all their opinions in. We've been strongly recommended to – when you’ve got a 19-hour flight and it's a 16-hour-something difference… it's a big adjustment on the body. 

“So, the recommendation for everybody has been to tell us when to go, and it's made a lot of sense. And I know how our players feel also. I was a little bit on the fence. Science wasn't and what I was reported on and our players weren't at all. So that helped me get off the fence.”

Getting to Australia a week early makes too much sense, even without the help of science. It’s similar to when the 49ers had to, and will need to this season, acclimate to the high elevation in Mexico City.

They’ll spend some days in Colorado to prepare themselves for it. That takes time for their bodies to get accustomed to it. It’s also why West Coast teams generally struggle on the East Coast.

They’re not used to the three-hour time difference when their bodies are in morning mode by the time their game starts. If anything, the Rams are insane to arrive in Australia the day before.

It places a little more pressure on the 49ers to win that game since they’re going to be extra prepared for the conditions. If they lose, it’ll look like the Rams were the geniuses while the 49ers overthought it. 

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