WATCH: Jimmy Garoppolo Doesn’t Deny Telling Kyle Shanahan His ‘Plays Suck’
It’s no secret San Francisco 49ers general manager John Lynch and head coach Kyle Shanahan didn’t want quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo. The team moved heaven and earth (and lots of draft picks) to trade up to pick Trey Lance in the 2021 NFL Draft, and, in 2022, only a few months removed from going to the NFC Championship Game with Jimmy G, Shanahan handed the offense over to the second-year signal caller.
Now that Lance is out for the year, Shanahan had no chance but to once again turn to Garoppolo to lead the 49ers. That doesn’t mean the coach or quarterback is happy about the situation. In a lackluster Week 3 loss to the Denver Broncos, cameras seemingly caught Jimmy G telling Shanahan that his “plays suck” on the sideline.
And when the media asked Garoppolo about it, the QB didn’t deny it, simply saying, “it is what it is.”
Jimmy Garoppolo may actually think Kyle Shanahan’s plays suck
Jimmy Garoppolo did not play well in the 49ers 11-10 loss to the Broncos on Sunday Night Football. He was 18-of-29 for 211 yards with one touchdown, one interception, and four sacks. And, of course, there was his now-infamous self-safety.
The play in question during the 49ers press conferences in the days following the game was the interception.
Late in the fourth quarter, down one, Garoppolo tried to force the ball into Deebo Samuel. The Broncos defensive back hit the 49ers wide receiver, the ball popped up in the air, and Denver linebacker Jonas Griffith came down with the INT.
Right after the play, cameras caught Jimmy G yelling something, and the internet’s amateur lip-readers went to work. The line people think they saw which went viral was Garoppolo exclaiming, “All of your plays suck, man!”
Did Garoppolo really yell that at his head coach? Considering that Kyle Shanahan is the same coach who drafted his replacement last season and tried to get rid of him, it seems plausible.
And when Jimmy G spoke with the media the week after the game, he didn’t deny he said it. The QB said he doesn’t remember if he said it or not. But he didn’t deny it.
“I don’t know. I can’t read lips. I’m sure I’ve said a lot worse things on the field than that,” Garoppolo revealed. “So, I’m glad they caught that. Better than something else. But I’m not sure exactly what I was saying. It is what it is.”
Whether Garoppolo said it or not, he also added, “Me and Kyle are cool. We really are.”
For his part, Shanahan said the clip is “a joke” to him and that “me and Jimmy are around each other every single day, so there’s no awkwardness between us.”
No matter what the QB said to his coach and vice versa, the fact is the 49ers are now 1-2 and in need of a big win. The team gets back at it and tries to even its record in Week 4 vs. the Las Angeles Rams.
All stats courtesy of Pro Football Reference
