49ers coach Kyle Shanahan shows off bold new look in the wake of horror car crash… as mystery swirls over cops’ refusal to release accident report

Kyle Shanahan made a big step in his return to the San Francisco 49ers on Saturday when he addressed the players for the first time since his horror car crash.

The head coach sustained broken ribs, a broken hand and a serious concussion in a scary accident on July 14, which was initially kept out of the media and has since raised more questions than answers.

But while reporters keep digging into the circumstances behind the crash, and the police’s refusal to release an accident report or bodycam footage from the scene, Shanahan himself is edging ever closer to a permanent return.

On Saturday, he was pictured back out on the practice field – complete with a huge new mustache – as he spent time watching the players ahead of the 2026 season.

Speaking to reporters after the session, general manager John Lynch also revealed that the head coach had made a big step forward earlier in the day.

‘He’s doing better, he’s doing better,’ Lynch revealed. ‘He addressed the team for the first time this morning as a whole. And they were excited. He got a nice welcome. And it was good to have him up there.’

Shanahan appeared in good spirits as he stepped up his return to the team after his car crash

In the wake of the crash, the team revealed it would slowly reintegrate Shanahan to day-to-day activities, and he is not currently in charge of the team.

Earlier in the week, Shanahan admitted he was still struggling with the serious concussion and is not yet back to his normal self.

‘I know I’ll be alright,’ Shanahan told reporters at the 49ers training camp.

On Saturday, Shanahan watched the session alongside former 49ers head coach Steve Mariucci, with the pair pictured chatting as the players went through drills.

In various images from the session, Shanahan also laughed with his coaching staff and appeared in high spirits in Santa Clara. 

Mystery still swirls over the specifics of Shanahan’s crash, meanwhile, after an initial police report blamed the female driver of the other vehicle, before the coach came out to take sole blame himself.

‘The Palo Alto Police Department will not be releasing the report or any video for the accident that occurred on the 14th,’ a department spokesperson told The Daily Mail this week. 

Officers have informed other reporters that any records from the July 14 collision are ‘exempt from disclosure.’ Specifically, the department cited the California Public Records Act, which includes carveouts for confidentiality and privacy concerns, and a state vehicle law making accident reports confidential.

The department’s statement comes amid widespread curiosity over a weeks-old crash that wasn’t revealed until the start of training camp on Sunday. 

The San Francisco 49ers head coach pictured with wife Mandy before this year’s Super Bowl

The crash took place near the intersection of Alma Street and Hamilton Avenue in Palo Alto

Not only did it go unreported by local media, but Bay Area police opted against charging Shanahan, who later admitted to being distracted before driving head-first into an SUV.

‘It is not uncommon for officers to elect to not issue a citation to either party involved in a collision,’ a police spokesperson told ESPN. ‘Neither party in this situation was provided preferential treatment.’

‘I went down to look for it and took my eyes off the road for two seconds,’ Shanahan said. ‘And as I was coming up, the airbags hit me in my face and they broke my nose and then they said the visor really gashed me.’

The reported 20-mph wreck left Shanahan with 40 stitches, he said. Former NFL quarterback and Shanahan’s ex-University of Texas teammate Chris Simms said that the coach nearly lost an eye in the crash.

‘He was this close to maybe losing his right eye, right?’ Simms said on PFT Live. ‘The scar is so big right here. So all that stuff was just crazy to see, and of course, I was thinking of my friend. But yeah, it’s tough.’

Shanahan also showed off his huge new mustache in the Santa Clara sunshine on Saturday

Shanahan and Mandy share three children together, son Carter and daughters Stella and Lexi

A clerical error in the local law enforcement’s database was blamed for attributing the crash to the female driver, with Shanahan later revealing: ‘I hit her.’

‘I don’t know why it was reported that way [on the collision report database],’ he added. ‘The police report doesn’t say that.

‘It just crushed me hearing the girl get blamed for it. I’m just lucky that I survived, that she didn’t get hurt and that I didn’t lose my eye.’

The other driver suffered minor injuries in the crash, but she has not been seen since and her identity has not been revealed.