49ers coach Kyle Shanahan holds hilarious presser in Australia

Programming note: NBC Sports Bay Area and NBC Bay Area will provide complete coverage of the 49ers’ season opener against the Rams in Melbourne, Australia, on Thursday, Sept. 10. First, tune in to NBC Sports Bay Area at 4:30 p.m. PT for “49ers Pregame Live.” Then, switch over to NBC Bay Area or Netflix at 5:30 p.m. PT for the game broadcast. As soon as the game ends, flip back to NBC Sports Bay Area for “49ers Postgame Live.”

MELBOURNE, Australia — Coach Kyle Shanahan was apparently saving his best material for an international audience.

Shanahan owned the room on Monday, when he greeted a packed house of media members — a mix of Bay Area reporters and those from outside the United States, mostly Australia, of course.

Shanahan held a press conference that lasted nearly 13 minutes. And he provided at least a laugh a minute during his session with reporters.

Shanahan leaned into the whole concept of being 17 hours ahead of everybody in California. When he spoke Monday morning, it was actually Sunday evening back home.

And that is why he was not obligated to provide a practice participation report.

“Because we're technically in the future from where we're from and the Rams are in the present, I don't have to talk about injuries until tomorrow,” Shanahan explained.

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Then, he took his understanding of days to a whole new level.

“We’re a little confused,” he began. “When I look at my clock and it says the time and then I try to see my family's time and then it says the time, but it says yesterday, I don't even get how that's possible. I feel like I'm in the future.”

The 49ers and Los Angeles Rams play Friday morning in Australia. But the way the 49ers arrange their weekly schedule is based off a normal Sunday game. Shanahan tried to explain.

“We play on our Friday, which I think is a Thursday in the U.S.,” Shanahan said. “We’re such creatures of habit, so I call today Wednesday, which is the first day we put in a game plan. But, I think it's Monday. However, though, it's Sunday in the present.

“So I'm going to mess that up all week if you guys ask me. But, today is just our first day of the game plan, which is a Wednesday. We'll put in some on Thursday. Friday is the final part of the game plan. Saturday we walk through and we play on Sunday, which is a Friday in Australia and a Thursday in the U.S.”

He managed to get through that explanation without too many stumbles, but he was not sure if he could pull it off again.

“Don’t ever make me do that again,” Shanahan said with laughter filling the room.

Shanahan’s routine continued when he was asked about any surprises he experienced while in Melbourne.

"I'm pretty lame when it comes to this stuff because I really haven't been outside the building for more than a 30-minute walk,” Shanahan said. “Yeah, I don't see kangaroos and crocodiles everywhere. I was expecting to see that. It looks like a very normal, cool city."

When asked about how his team adjusted to the 15-hour flight and time difference, Shanahan relayed what he heard from some of his players.

“Each guy's different,” he said. “Some guys feel good and feel great, and then you talk to them five hours later, they're like, ‘Never mind, that left.’ Some guys started off bad and then feel good later.”

Shanahan was asked about the seating configuration on the plane that placed quarterback Brock Purdy behind center Jake Brendel. Was that a coincidence or by design?

“They were doing snaps for 17 straight hours,” Shanahan deadpanned. “No, that was just luck."

On Friday, some players and staff members attended an Australian Rules Football game at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, where the 49ers and Rams will play in front of a crowd of approximately 100,000.

“It's fun to watch guys play without pads,” he said. “Sometimes it can be more painful. Sometimes it can be less because of the impact of helmets and things like that. But, I mean, we've been playing tackle football without pads growing up our whole life at recess and stuff.”

Shanahan said he likes how officials in the AFL indicate how goals are scored.

“It looked like an awesome atmosphere,” he said. “I didn't get to see much of the game, but the coolest part is how they do scores, how they do them like this.”

Shanahan dropped his hands near his waist, lifted his thumbs and extended his pointer fingers.

“That's cooler,” Shanahan said. “It looks like a 6-shooter. I wish we did that.”

Shanahan took a shot at the Rams, who gave up a home game to play the 49ers in the first NFL regular-season game ever played in Australia. Fans of the 49ers outnumber fans at SoFi Stadium when the teams meet every season.

“I see it as one home game a year in L.A.,” Shanahan said. “Just the way our fans are and take over that stadium. So, it was disappointing to let them off the hook and get them out of that.

“But I have a feeling, knowing how our fans roll, I have a feeling they won't be much different here. I expect to have a good showing.”

The playing surface at the MCG is massive. The regulation NFL field will mean there will be a lot of space between the sideline and the permanent seating in the lower bowl.

"Hopefully they have chalk here and they put the white lines for us,” Shanahan said. “As long as those white lines are rectangle, we should be all right.”

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