San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Torrey Smith was in Houston this week for Super Bowl festivities, and that included some time on radio row. On Friday, he took some time to chat with KNBR. It is no surprise he got questions about the team’s new coach and GM. Smith is a generally positive person, so it is no surprising he was excited about the moves.
I did not get everything included on this transcription. He was asked about Adam Schefter reporting that Colin Kaepernick was expected to opt out of his contract. The interview was Friday morning shortly after the news broke, and it sounds like Smith had not checked Twitter yet. He talked about how sometimes a player needs to go somewhere else and get a fresh start, and he understands that. You can listen to the full interview here.
On big changes:
I think it’s great news. It’s better than not having a coach at all [Laugh]. I think it’s all positive. I think Jed did a great job, and the team, the search went about as well as I could imagine.
On Kyle Shanahan as head coach:
You see that he’s very smart, clearly he knows what he’s doing. All of his offenses have been pretty explosive, in terms of running and throwing the ball. He did a great job in Cleveland as well. I think he’s been able to adapt to his environment, to his players, and he’s done a great job, and guys like that, it’s not too long before they get a chance to lead a team, and I’m excited for him.
On Shanahan wanting a pure thrower at QB and if Smith likes that:
I think that’s pretty accurate. Someone that’s gonna trust what they see and let it rip. That’s what he’s had in the past, and that’s why he’s been very successful with those guys.
On watching any of the college quarterbacks:
I watched the national championship game, and thought DeShaun [Watson] did a great job. But, that other guy (Mitch Trubisky), I don’t really know too much about him.
On college evaluators vs. draft film evaluators on DeShaun Watson:
That’s why they have a job to do. His opinion may be different than the next man, but I think that’s what evaluators do. That’s why there’s always a big difference between what you see on TV and what’s on film. And production sometimes doesn’t show the things that could be problematic in the league. And I’m not saying, in my opinion, I think he’s gonna be a great quarterback. He’s gonna have as good a chance as anyone else that steps into this league, and he has qualities that you can’t teach or coach. So, I’m rooting for him. I think he’ll do a great job, but you understand that’s why they evaluate stuff and you love to prove those guys wrong.
On John Lynch and what people are saying:
I really haven’t talked to anyone about it. It’s the GM. I’m a player, man, I have no control over any of that stuff. He’ll be the guy who decides if I’m even here. So, that’s his job, and you just have to go with trusting the process. And it’s a process. There’s been a lot of change, and the organization’s trying to get it right, and get back on track. I believe that he’s gonna do a great job because clearly there’s a relationship there. We all see the same things on social media, and all those things. We see the things everyone else sees, and then his name came out of nowhere, so clearly this is something where they think him and the head coach can work well together. I think for the team and the organization, it’s a great move. He has no experience, obviously, but he’s been evaluating talent from the television side as well. So, those guys watch film. And I’m sure he knows what it looks like. He knows what it’s like to win as a player, and he knows what it’s like just to evaluate it, be around talent. I think he’ll do a great job, and it’ll be trial by fire.