{"id":5436,"date":"2026-07-25T20:38:54","date_gmt":"2026-07-25T20:38:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=5436"},"modified":"2026-07-25T20:38:54","modified_gmt":"2026-07-25T20:38:54","slug":"who-is-chris-foerster-the-49ers-acting-head-coach-until-kyle-shanahan-returns-from-car-collision-injuries","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=5436","title":{"rendered":"Who is Chris Foerster, the 49ers\u2019 acting head coach until Kyle Shanahan returns from car collision injuries?"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<div>\n<p><span>SANTA CLARA \u2013 The 49ers will hand some of their head-coaching reins over to a longtime assistant <\/span><span>while Kyle Shanahan<\/span><span> recovers from injuries suffered in a recent car crash.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=5434\">Kurtenbach: The 49ers don\u2019t need Kyle Shanahan to survive training camp \u2014 and that\u2019s a compliment<\/a><\/p>\n<p><span>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.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cChris Foerster, been in the NFL for 34 seasons, 13 of those with Kyle, he knows Kyle inside and out,\u201d general manager John Lynch said. \u201cThirty four NFL seasons, his acumen, he\u2019s respected throughout our building, and he\u2019s kind of earned that.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Foerster did not address the media during the team\u2019s first day of training camp but spoke two years ago about his approach to a new season.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>\u201cEvery year is different,\u201d <span>Foerster said. \u201c<\/span>That\u2019s what is so great about it. No matter what, Kyle always talks about previous years, and \u2026 I get it. There have been a lot of people who have been here a long time, but \u2026 every year\u2019s a new dynamic.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><span>Last season, Foerster helped turn an injured and unheralded offensive line into <\/span><span>one of the league\u2019s best.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Though he has never been in charge of an NFL team, Foerster has a <\/span><span>level of experience that few assistants can bring<\/span><span> to a room.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>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\u2019 staff in 1993.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<div>\n<\/div>\n<p><span>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.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Foerster stepped away from Miami during the 2017 season after a<\/span><span> video showing him consuming cocaine<\/span><span> off his desk was made public.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=5432\">Berkeley oversight board sustained 13 police misconduct allegations. The chief rejected them all<\/a><\/p>\n<p><span>He entered rehab, telling <\/span><span>NFL.com<\/span><span> 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.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>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\u2019s run to the Super Bowl in 2019.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<div>\n<\/div>\n<p><span>\u201cHe did something extremely stupid, and since then, he has hit rock bottom,\u201d Shanahan said in 2019. \u201cHe <\/span><span>went to rehab for 60 days<\/span><span>, and then he was in a 90-day outpatient rehab. For the last two years, he\u2019s been in a 12-step program that he\u2019s been to every single night seven days a week.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>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.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>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.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cIt will very much be a collective effort,\u201d Lynch said.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>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 \u201cwhen appropriate .. come together as a team.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>The 49ers\u2019 general manager remained vague when asked about a possible timetable for Shanahan\u2019s return. San Francisco plays its first preseason game at Levi\u2019s Stadium on Aug. 13.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cChris is one of those people who we think very highly of,\u201d Lynch said. \u201cHe\u2019s well-equipped to do this, and our staff is equipped and it will very much be a collective effort.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=5430\">Dangerous waves, currents to slam Bay Area coastline<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Foerster has spent more than three decades in the NFL but has never been a head coach.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5435,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5436","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Who is Chris Foerster, the 49ers\u2019 acting head coach until Kyle Shanahan returns from car collision injuries? - Next City Digest<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=5436\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Who is Chris Foerster, the 49ers\u2019 acting head coach until Kyle Shanahan returns from car collision injuries? - Next City Digest\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Foerster has spent more than three decades in the NFL but has never been a head coach.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=5436\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Next City Digest\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-07-25T20:38:54+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=5436#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=5436\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/13065d40d633843429ac57d4e5c06f9b\"},\"headline\":\"Who is Chris Foerster, the 49ers\u2019 acting head coach until Kyle Shanahan returns from car collision injuries?\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-25T20:38:54+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=5436\"},\"wordCount\":694,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=5436#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/0a74b21a79f032eb34b0d7ece9400c7e-scaled.webp\",\"articleSection\":[\"Sports\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=5436#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=5436\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=5436\",\"name\":\"Who is Chris Foerster, the 49ers\u2019 acting head coach until Kyle Shanahan returns from car collision injuries? - Next City Digest\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=5436#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=5436#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/0a74b21a79f032eb34b0d7ece9400c7e-scaled.webp\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-25T20:38:54+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/13065d40d633843429ac57d4e5c06f9b\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=5436#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=5436\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=5436#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/0a74b21a79f032eb34b0d7ece9400c7e-scaled.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/0a74b21a79f032eb34b0d7ece9400c7e-scaled.webp\",\"width\":2560,\"height\":1628},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=5436#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Who is Chris Foerster, the 49ers\u2019 acting head coach until Kyle Shanahan returns from car collision injuries?\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Next City Digest\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/13065d40d633843429ac57d4e5c06f9b\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Who is Chris Foerster, the 49ers\u2019 acting head coach until Kyle Shanahan returns from car collision injuries? - Next City Digest","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=5436","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Who is Chris Foerster, the 49ers\u2019 acting head coach until Kyle Shanahan returns from car collision injuries? - Next City Digest","og_description":"Foerster has spent more than three decades in the NFL but has never been a head coach.","og_url":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=5436","og_site_name":"Next City Digest","article_published_time":"2026-07-25T20:38:54+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=5436#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=5436"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/#\/schema\/person\/13065d40d633843429ac57d4e5c06f9b"},"headline":"Who is Chris Foerster, the 49ers\u2019 acting head coach until Kyle Shanahan returns from car collision injuries?","datePublished":"2026-07-25T20:38:54+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=5436"},"wordCount":694,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=5436#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/0a74b21a79f032eb34b0d7ece9400c7e-scaled.webp","articleSection":["Sports"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=5436#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=5436","url":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=5436","name":"Who is Chris Foerster, the 49ers\u2019 acting head coach until Kyle Shanahan returns from car collision injuries? - Next City Digest","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=5436#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=5436#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/0a74b21a79f032eb34b0d7ece9400c7e-scaled.webp","datePublished":"2026-07-25T20:38:54+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/#\/schema\/person\/13065d40d633843429ac57d4e5c06f9b"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=5436#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=5436"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=5436#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/0a74b21a79f032eb34b0d7ece9400c7e-scaled.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/0a74b21a79f032eb34b0d7ece9400c7e-scaled.webp","width":2560,"height":1628},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=5436#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Who is Chris Foerster, the 49ers\u2019 acting head coach until Kyle Shanahan returns from car collision injuries?"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/","name":"Next City Digest","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/#\/schema\/person\/13065d40d633843429ac57d4e5c06f9b","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/nextcitydigest.com"],"url":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5436","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5436"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5436\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/5435"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5436"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5436"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5436"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}