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San Francisco 49ers' head coach Kyle Shanahan talks with Brock Purdy in 1st quarter during Niners' 30-13 win over New England Patriots during NFL game at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif., on Sunday, September 29, 2024.
The San Francisco 49ers moved to 6-0 on the season with a 23-17 victory over the Washington Commanders on Monday night. But those watching with a keen eye noticed an interesting exchange between Niners quarterback Brock Purdy and head coach Kyle Shanahan.
At one point late in the third quarter, Purdy could be seen waiting for play call from Shanahan before he turned back toward the sideline and yelled, simply, “Hey, Kyle!”
The following third-down play resulted in a 1-yard touchdown run by 49ers star running back Christian McCaffrey. But what exactly was Purdy yelling at Shanahan about?
Kyle Shanahan couldn’t decide on a play to call and Brock Purdy got tired of waiting 💀
“HEY KYLE!” https://t.co/c7aTqy83RP
— Coach Yac 🗣 (@Coach_Yac) October 20, 2026
Kyle Shanahan Says Exchange With QB Brock Purdy Is Not Uncommon
Following the incident, 49ers reporter Grant Cohn asked Shanahan what was happening that led to Purdy yelling at his head coach on the sidelines. As it turns out, it’s a fairly common occurrence.
“Yeah, it’s actually not to call a play faster,” Shanahan told members of the media. “It’s, ‘I need it again,’ and (radio communication) gets cut off at 15 [seconds].”
I asked Kyle Shanahan why Brock Purdy yelled at him from the huddle during the Commanders game. https://t.co/j51SFXQaCo
— Grant Cohn (@grantcohn) October 21, 2026
“Sometimes no one can hear it,” Shanahan added. “I always call a play, and I just walk and think. I don’t always watch the huddle. A lot of times, Mac [Jones] or someone will say, ‘We didn’t get it. It was chopped.’ Or somebody yells, ‘Brock’s yelling at you,’ which I can’t always hear. But I did hear him a couple times in this game, and I look up and try to do it again as long as it’s not past 15 seconds.”
According to Shanahan, this type of interaction usually happens multiple times in a game. In this case, the microphone and cameras just happened to pick it up.
Shanahan also noted that at certain NFL stadiums, headset communications are less reliable. In the case that the play call doesn’t reach the quarterback in time, the team has a handful of “go-to” plays that Purdy can call.
Sure, it provided a funny moment for viewers at home. But it appears that the interaction between Shanahan and Purdy was actually a whole lot of nothing.