K.J. Wright never planned to be a coach. Now, could he be the next DeMeco Ryans? (Paywall)
“Norton said if there was an 8 p.m. team meeting the night before a game, Wright would show up at 6 p.m. On practice days, coach and protege would arrive at the facility at 6 a.m. The goal, Norton said, was to supply his mentee with as much information as possible, to give him total command.
“I wanted him to feel invincible out there,” he said.
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Pretty soon, other teammates began coming in early for what Norton described as a daily breakfast club.
“What I loved most about Nort was he took the extra time with me outside of that block that we have as a football team,” Wright said. “‘Hey, meet me here at 6 o’clock in the morning.’ That ain’t on the schedule. But he met with me there. He was honest with me. He embarrassed me sometimes in front of the room. I didn’t like it. But when you push a player, they have no choice but to rise to the occasion, or they’re gonna fold.”
Wright, who turns 37 on July 23, said he’s started his own breakfast club with his pupils, especially Tatum Bethune and Jalen Graham, who are in his office every morning.
Asked if he shows the youngsters clips of himself — the 49ers’ defense is similar to what the Seahawks ran 15 years ago — Wright admits he nearly did when putting together a recent edge-setting montage.
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“But I didn’t do it,” he said. “I probably do need to do it. ‘This is what it looks like, guys.’ … So that may come about. But I don’t want to be that coach, though.”
The 49ers’ breakout candidate in 2026 is also their secret weapon on defense
“Stout will make his presence felt as a pass rusher in his second year. He only rushed the passer 39 times as a rookie. That number should triple under Raheem Morris. He generated a 23.1 pressure percentage. Eight of those were of the quick variety. Stout’s average time to pressure was 2.13 seconds. That’s a weapon that needs to be used more. Despite the low blitz volume, Stout finished eighth in quick pressures as a rookie….I’d argue that the more you use Stout as a pass rusher, the more his confidence grows. That should bleed into his coverage skills and help him become a more complete player as the season goes along.”
Former 49ers LB Reuben Foster praises Kyle Shanahan and John Lynch
“I luv Johnny Holland, and my dawg John Lynch,” Foster wrote on social media. “Ppl dont always understand Kyle coaching style, but I’ve liv it. Tough coaching isnt hate it’s accountability. Saban built champs the same way. Kyle has a job to do, like he expects every player to do theirs. There are levels to this.”
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Kawakami: 49ers can’t win Aiyuk Cold War if they never end it, the LeBron wait, and more (paywall)
“Mostly, the 49ers’ leaders wanted to make it very clear that they didn’t have to do anything that would ease and quicken Aiyuk’s transition to his next team, loudly proclaimed by him to be the Washington Commanders. (Unless, say, the Commanders wanted to toss over a sixth- or seventh-round pick to make it happen.)
Until Aiyuk reports to the team and forces the 49ers to make a call on his future, they don’t have to do anything — he doesn’t count on their roster or salary cap, showing up only on the “reserve/left squad” limbo land.
And Aiyuk hasn’t shown up. He says he won’t show up, even if that’s the simplest solution. You can almost picture Kyle Shanahan, John Lynch, and the rest of the 49ers’ leaders shaking their heads with a giant thought bubble over their heads: See what it’s been like dealing with this guy for the last few years?
But there’s not much of a point, anymore, especially after Aiyuk recently shifted some of his online barbs to Washington quarterback and (former?) pal Jayden Daniels.
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Was this the goal? The 49ers have held onto Aiyuk long enough not only for him to burn all bridges with them but inevitably to start nuking his relationship with Washington before even getting there.”
