NFL commissioner Roger Goodell took aim at San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan over his comments regarding the Australia season opener this fall.
In a recent press conference, Goodell made an appearance in Australia to talk about the upcoming contest between the 49ers and the Los Angeles Rams in September. He was asked about Shanahan not being a fan of the travel, and Goodell didn't mince any words in his response to Shanahan.
"Coaches have a focus on winning, that's their number one job," Goodell said. "Coach Shanahan is enthusiastic and a great football coach and also someone who truly understands the importance of expanding our game globally. But his job is to win. I always like to say that coaches like to play at [1 p.m.] and [4 p.m.] and don't get in the way of that."
During the NFL's Annual League Meeting, Shanahan was not a fan of his team traveling to Australia to play a game.
"I don't see any pro," Shanahan said on March 30, via ESPN. "It's cool for the league to play globally. I think that's awesome. But as far as the team doing it, no, there's not much benefit to it."
Shanahan told the media that the only reason the 49ers were picked to play in Australia is because they lobbied to play the Seattle Seahawks in the first week of the season, but the NFL denied them.
The 49ers fell short in the playoffs last season at the hands of the Seahawks in the divisional round.
Now, they will travel 7,800+ miles to take on their division rivals for their first game of the season. Kickoff in the United States is set for Thursday, Sept. 10 at 8:35 p.m. ET, while the local kickoff in Melbourne is on Friday, Sept. 11 at 10:35 a.m. AEST.
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