The 49ers keep making news of all kinds this offseason, but things are about to go quiet for a while after this week’s final OTA sessions and next week’s mandatory minicamp.
So this is a good time to take some questions on Kyle Shanahan’s crew — and the slumping Giants, limbo-living A’s, very watchable Valkyries, and possibly-interesting-soon Sharks.
Part 1 of this mailbag hit earlier this week and was all Warriors. This is Part 2 — everybody else.
As always, questions have been edited for length and clarity. Let’s get started …
Do you get the sense that Robert Saleh could be to Shanahan what Steve Spagnuolo is to Andy Reid? Basically, what could convince Saleh to turn down future head-coaching opportunities to stay with this partnership? — @hansonwang.bsky.social
First, I don’t think that Spagnuolo, for all his Super Bowl success as the Chiefs’ defensive coordinator, has turned down head-coaching jobs lately. The offers just haven’t come after Spagnuolo’s poor run with the Rams years ago. That tends to happen with defensive-minded guys, even the best ones — a single shot at running their own show and if it doesn’t work out, they often don’t get another chance.
I would guess that Saleh is equally as interested in getting another HC job eventually. I would also guess that he has a better chance at it than Spagnuolo because Saleh is generally perceived to have done fairly well amid the Jets chaos. And if the 49ers’ defense surges again and Saleh gets another good opportunity, I would guess that he’ll take it.
But it’s the interpretation of “good” that might be significant. The 49ers are paying him great money. And Saleh has more juice in the building this time around. One of the major storylines of this season is how much the 49ers missed him (and DeMeco Ryans), how much say Saleh already has had in personnel decisions, and how relieved Shanahan and John Lynch are to have him back — so neither one has to fret over the defensive coaching like they did the previous two seasons.
Put all that together, and I think Saleh has reasons to be picky about his next job. He’s already getting paid like a middle-rung HC. He doesn’t need to take a job that would only get him fired again. He could spend another four or five seasons here, and he’d still only be in his early 50s. And he knows that if the 49ers start to win big again, this is a pretty good place to be.
Do you think that other than having a soft schedule, the 49ers will truly be contenders in the NFC with the dependence on rookies, a questionable offensive line, and a lack of depth on defense and O-line — even if the draft pans out? — @marcdhodges.bsky.social
Yes, their super-soft schedule still could get the 49ers into the postseason whether or not they’re a good team. And yes, the 49ers still have a lot of high-quality players. They should win nine, 10, or 11 games, almost by accident.
Good record = how good of a team? This will be a season-long conundrum that likely won’t be decided if and until the 49ers get into the playoffs.
But we have the NFC West games as a measure. Nobody in the division looks great, and nobody looks terrible. If the 49ers dominate the West, that will be a truer sign than anything they do against Carolina, Chicago, Cleveland, and the rest of this shoddy out-of-division slate. And if the 49ers collapse against the Rams, Cardinals, and Seahawks, that would be a pretty loud indication of its own.
I’m reading about the new improved vibe this year from the players. Is it something you feel when you are around them? — @ninergriller via X
It’s hard to really know about stuff like that without being in the locker room (which is closed to reporters during the offseason) or around the players all the time. The best we can do for now is watch practice, observe the interactions, and ask the players about it.
So far, the leaders have been effusive about the energy level and commitment in all podium sessions, and it has all seemed quite genuine. There’s no doubt they’ve gotten more rest this offseason and they won’t have the contract-negotiation headaches they had last spring and summer. But let’s see how it feels in November and December.
What do you think of the Niners’ offensive line going into the season? They did nothing to upgrade it. Is this going to be a problem? — Terry Hill via email
The 49ers are going to need to get lucky with their offensive-line play and health this season — like they did two seasons ago and extremely unlike what happened last year. Of course, that’s never the most serene way to do this. But that’s just how Shanahan and Lynch like to play it. They put the most resources into other positions. They hang on tight with the O-line and hope for the best.
With the 49ers and Brandon Aiyuk, is the lingering bad blood between him and the front office only? Or is his relationship with Shanahan damaged? — @djgriff.bsky.social
I don’t think Aiyuk’s relationship with anybody in the organization is great — his best friend on the team was Deebo Samuel, who was shipped away the first chance the 49ers got this offseason. Aiyuk might’ve been traded this offseason, too, if he wasn’t still recovering from his knee injury.
But I think Aiyuk and Shanahan can find common ground if Aiyuk has a great season. Aiyuk didn’t get the huge contract because he’s everybody’s buddy, he got it because he’s been a great target for Brock Purdy. He’s still the 49ers’ best option down field. If Aiyuk is back putting up 120-yard, two-touchdown performances by October, the football will matter most. It always does.
Standout rookie in 49ers training camp? Prediction for the 49ers’ record for 2025? — @monaghanHoop via X
I don’t make record predictions until I see training camp and the preseason. But I’ll generally say I expect the 49ers to take full advantage of this schedule and get to double-digit wins, unless some really bad things start to occur.
Standout rookie? It had better be Mykel Williams.
I’d love your thoughts on NFL players and Olympic flag football. I like Jason Kelce’s idea: Let the top NFL team play the top flag-football team — winner goes to the Olympics. — @mbabco.bsky.social
Maybe it’s just cranky ol’ me, but my stance on this one is that the Olympics should be for the athletes and sports that don’t get massive attention professionally in most other ways.
I believe football has a championship game that gets just a bit of attention. I don’t see why NFL players need to be part of the Olympics. They’re big enough without the Five Rings. The Olympics certainly should be big enough without NFL players, too.
Once Steph Curry retires, which Bay Area team do you think will fill the interest vacuum? Will it continue to be the Warriors, will it be the Buster Posey-led Giants, or someone new? My dark-horse pick would be the Macklin Celebrini-led Sharks. — @dingerdoo11 via X
Note: We didn’t know the Warriors would become this mega-team until the 2014-15 season happened. So … who knows what the next big Bay Area team will be? My usual guess: The 49ers remain a constant attention-gobbler, even when they’re bad. Maybe even more when they’re bad.
And I’m glad you mentioned the Sharks with Celebrini, which should hearten Sharks partisans. He’s a special player. But also, I’ll point out that the countdown to Celebrini’s potential 2030 unrestricted free agency has already quietly begun. Over the next few years, can the Sharks make themselves the kind of franchise that Celebrini wouldn’t think of leaving? I hope so. There’s sure a chance of it. I don’t know the answer, though.
Willy Adames is definitely a plus in vibes, energy. Too often announcers said dugout energy was flat last year. But how much are Adames’ stats a concern? — @sfg55.bsky.social
Adames seems like a great guy, but he has to hit. He isn’t hitting.
There’s not much the Giants can do about it — he’s signed for six more years, and the Giants don’t have a plausible replacement in the organization. Also, I don’t think anybody in Giants ownership (which includes Buster Posey, of course) would be ready to go big-money shopping for a shortstop again next offseason.
What’s the probability of Posey trading a young pitching for hitting help? —@tellitgoodbye.bsky.social
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I think Posey will look into trading one of his young starters if he can target just the right hitter to plop into the middle of the Giants’ order. The Giants’ pitching strength could almost force Posey’s hand — if this staff keeps this up, the Giants would be a very, very tough playoff out. That’s if the Giants can get enough hitting to make the playoffs.
Obviously, it’s risky to trade pitching. But it’s almost as risky to waste a great all-around pitching season like this one could be.
Do you think the Valkyries’ close game in New York means they may win many more games this year than people have predicted? — @jenniferberezan.bsky.social
I’ve been impressed by how hard the Valkyries play even when they’re thoroughly overmatched, like they were in the last three losses against the Liberty twice and the Lynx most recently. They bug good teams.
That’s a measure of Natalie Nakase’s coaching. I don’t know how many of these players will be around for the long haul as the Valkyries ramp up their roster next offseason, but maybe it’ll be more than we would’ve thought going into this season. And I’m sure that Nakase will be around for a while. Right now, she and her players are setting a strong baseline culture for the future of the franchise.
The Valkyries’ Carla Leite and Julie Vanloo are streaky and make suspect decisions at point and shot selection. Why not keep Kaitlyn Chen? She was a better ball-handler and decision-maker. — @cranky29er via X
It takes a lot for an expansion team to cut two of its three Year 1 draft picks, especially knowing its first-rounder (Juste Jocytė) was likely staying in Europe this year. But that’s what the Valkyries did with second-rounder Shyanne Sellers and Chen, the third-round selection.
I can’t judge whether those were the right decisions or not, but I respect that the Valkyries’ leaders weren’t afraid to make them. And I think the point-guard situation will get steadier when they aren’t playing the best two teams in the league.
How many years ago would the A’s have had a new stadium in San Jose if the Giants hadn’t blocked the idea? — @voodoo54.bsky.social
If the A’s had gotten an immediate go-ahead to build in San Jose, that stadium would’ve been completed a long time ago. But every bit of that drawn-out failure was wasted time. They never were going to get approval to build in San Jose. Just wasn’t going to happen.
By the way, John Fisher’s A’s could’ve had a new stadium almost ready or maybe even constructed by now in Fremont if that effort hadn’t bogged down, or on the Laney College site if they hadn’t blown that one, or a new stadium on the Coliseum site if they had actually committed to it.
Finally, they could’ve been well down the road at Howard Terminal if Fisher just had signed off on that deal two years ago, when it was close. Instead, the A’s are sitting in a minor-league park in Sacramento, waiting to either finish or blow the deal in Las Vegas, and still mostly just wasting time.
What’s your favorite book you’re reading? — @jessup-at-large.bsky.social
Lately, I’ve been in a rut of rereading a lot of my favorite old books or just moving to the newest titles from my favorite authors. That’s not very daring or expansive! So I’ve made a commitment to finding new authors and newer books.
Right now, I’m reading “The Lost Bookshop” by Evie Woods and enjoying it. And on my podcast this week, Dave Flemming recommended “The Mars Room” and other books by Rachel Kushner, which meant an automatic purchase by me. I read Andy Weir’s “Project Hail Mary” a little while ago and wasn’t 100% onboard while I was going through it, but I’ve thought a lot about it since.