Head coach Kyle Shanahan clearly isn't happy about the San Francisco 49ers having to open up the regular season not just on the road, but clear across the biggest ocean in a Week 1 NFC West showdown against the Los Angeles Rams.
"Oh, so fired up," Shanahan sarcastically said from the NFL meetings, recently. "That was our goal: to go 19 hours away to play a game, so... I think we're going back in time or into the future. I think we gained a day or lose a day, I'm not really sure. But, it is what it is, we'll deal with it."
Few of his players have expressed excitement over the business trip either, and it's not hard to see why L.A. chose to face the Niners while playing the host role; denying the Faithful from a likely takeover at SoFI Stadium.
"I don’t see any pro. It’s cool for the league to play globally," Shanahan continued. "I think that’s awesome. But as far as the team doing it, no, there’s not much benefit to it."
Meanwhile, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell had a not-so-subtly veiled response to San Francisco's head coach.
Roger Goodell basically tells Kyle Shanahan to 'suck it up'
Speaking to reporters in Melbourne, Australia, where the game is to be played, Goodell was asked about Shanahan's comments and offered up as diplomatic a response as possible while also telling the coach to "deal with it."
"Coaches have a focus on winning. That's their number one job," Goodell said, via David Bonilla of 49ers Webzone. "And so, Coach Shanahan is enthusiastic and a great football coach, but also someone who truly understands the importance of expanding our game globally."
Reading between the lines, that's a nice way of saying Shanahan's 49ers need to serve the bigger purpose, even if it's not to their own benefit.
"His job is to win. His job is to play," Goodell added. "I always say coaches like to play at 1:00 and 4:00 and don't get in the way of that. So, we're going to make it a great experience for the team. That's one of the things we focused on. Everybody here—and so many others—have focused on making it a great experience for everyone, the team included."
It's important to acknowledge Goodell works for the league's owners, and they're pretty much in it for the money. And Australia is a massive market yet to be tapped, meaning Shanahan's sentiments about playing so far away from home aren't going to be heeded.
At least they weren't ignored, if that's any saving grace.