The San Francisco 49ers will start the 2026 regular season with a huge game. San Francisco will travel to Australia for a divisional matchup against Los Angeles. The 49ers will be under a lot of pressure to win that game or they will immediately fall behind in the NFC West. 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan is not thrilled about that situation.
NFL commissioner Roger Goodell responded to the head coach’s comments about playing in Australia in a recent interview.
“Coaches have a focus on winning, that’s their number one job,” Goodell said on April 10th, per Ari Meirov. “Coach Shanahan is enthusiastic and a great football coach, but also someone who truly understands the importance of expanding our game globally. But his job is to win, his job is to play.”
Goodell noted that most NFL coaches want to play most of their games during the main window on Sundays. Playing games at irregular times, and in far flung locations like Australia, can introduce unknowns that are not conducive to winning football games.
Shanahan did not sound excited about Australia during an interview at the NFL owners meetings in back in March.
The veteran head coach’s comments about the game seemed to mask frustration at starting the regular season so far from home.
“Our goal to go 19 hours away. We’re going back in time or into future. … It is what it is,” Shanahan said on March 30th, per 49ers reporter Cam Inman. “We’ll deal with it.”
There’s no doubt that Shanahan will take extra precautions to get his team ready for this international game.
Ultimately, Week 1 of a new NFL season can always be a little weird. Perhaps the 49ers can embrace the chaos and pull off a big upset in Australia later this fall.
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