Who is Chris Foerster, the 49ers’ acting head coach until Kyle Shanahan returns from car collision injuries?

SANTA CLARA – The 49ers will hand some of their head-coaching reins over to a longtime assistant while Kyle Shanahan recovers from injuries suffered in a recent car crash.

Shanahan, 46, will cede head coaching responsibilities to assistant coach and offensive line guru Chris Foerster, 64, as training camp begins, the team announced Saturday.

“Chris Foerster, been in the NFL for 34 seasons, 13 of those with Kyle, he knows Kyle inside and out,” general manager John Lynch said. “Thirty four NFL seasons, his acumen, he’s respected throughout our building, and he’s kind of earned that.”

Foerster did not address the media during the team’s first day of training camp but spoke two years ago about his approach to a new season.

“Every year is different,” Foerster said. “That’s what is so great about it. No matter what, Kyle always talks about previous years, and … I get it. There have been a lot of people who have been here a long time, but … every year’s a new dynamic.”

Last season, Foerster helped turn an injured and unheralded offensive line into one of the league’s best.

Though he has never been in charge of an NFL team, Foerster has a level of experience that few assistants can bring to a room.

He began his coaching career working for his alma mater, Colorado State, and had stints at Stanford and Minnesota in the early 1990s. He started his time in the NFL working with tight ends and offensive linemen as a member of the Minnesota Vikings’ staff in 1993.

He then coached with the Tampa Buccaneers, the Peyton Manning-led Indianapolis Colts, Miami Dolphins, Baltimore Ravens and then with 49ers in his first stint with the team. From there, he was with Shanahan in Washington, the 49ers again and then the Dolphins a final time.

Foerster stepped away from Miami during the 2017 season after a video showing him consuming cocaine off his desk was made public.

He entered rehab, telling NFL.com in a story published in January 2018 that he not only had to kick his cocaine habit, but also an addiction to alcohol that stretched back almost 30 years.

After undergoing rehab and then working with the 49ers as a consultant during the 2018 season, Foerster was hired on as an offensive line coach for San Francisco’s run to the Super Bowl in 2019.

“He did something extremely stupid, and since then, he has hit rock bottom,” Shanahan said in 2019. “He went to rehab for 60 days, and then he was in a 90-day outpatient rehab. For the last two years, he’s been in a 12-step program that he’s been to every single night seven days a week.”

Now, Foerster will be asked to lead as a head coach for the first time in his career. However, Lynch made sure to repeatedly emphasize that Foerster will not be asked to work alone.

Lynch noted that new defensive coordinator Raheem Morris had previously led both the Buccaneers and Falcons as a head coach, and that first-year offensive coordinator Klay Kubiak has four years of experience in the building as passing and quarterback specialist.

“It will very much be a collective effort,” Lynch said.

Lynch said the 49ers may not have as many team meetings with Foerster in charge, saying that the 49ers will ask each side of the ball to be led by their respective coaches, and will “when appropriate .. come together as a team.”

The 49ers’ general manager remained vague when asked about a possible timetable for Shanahan’s return. San Francisco plays its first preseason game at Levi’s Stadium on Aug. 13.

“Chris is one of those people who we think very highly of,” Lynch said. “He’s well-equipped to do this, and our staff is equipped and it will very much be a collective effort.”