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Three hottest seats on the San Francisco 49ers
The San Francisco 49ers were again one of the NFL's best teams in 2023, earning their second trip to the Super Bowl within the past five years. It was also their third consecutive trip to at least the NFC Championship Game. Even with all of that success, the 49ers were on the wrong end of a disappointing playoff game and are still searching for their first championship in the Kyle Shanahan era.
That latest disappointing big-game loss might be one that actually pushes Shanahan to the hot seat if he continues to come up small in the biggest moments. Let's take a look at the other 49ers who could be on the hottest seats entering the 2024 season.
Head coach Kyle Shanahan
At some point, there needs to be a serious discussion about Shanahan's postseason and big-game performances. His overall record in the regular season is undeniable. He is a great offensive coach and has found enormous success with the 49ers in getting them to the postseason and deep into the playoffs.
That is the good news.
The bad news is he has had, on paper, the most talented top-to-bottom roster in the league for five years now and has yet to win a Super Bowl. That might be easier to overlook if it were not for the way his team's have lost in the playoffs. His teams have blown two 10-point leads in two different Super Bowls. He blew a 10-point fourth-quarter lead in another NFC Championship Game to cost them a trip to the Super Bowl. He was the offensive coordinator for the Atlanta Falcons when they could not hold a 28-3 lead in a Super Bowl.
One or two of those games is bad luck. All of those games are a trend.
Offensive lineman Spencer Burford
Burford took a lot of heat for the 49ers' Super Bowl loss for a missed block on Kansas City Chiefs defensive lineman Chris Jones in overtime. It was a key play, and it helped define his season for the team.
While that play alone isn't the only reason that Burford might find himself on the hot seat, it certainly does not help. The 49ers do not have many weaknesses as a team, but the interior of their offensive line is probably one of them. The 49ers have invested a lot of time in developing Burford, but with Jon Feliciano returning, he is going to have to fight for a spot.
Defensive lineman Javon Hargrave
The 49ers made one of the biggest splashes in free agency a year ago when they signed Javon Hargrave to a four-year, $84 million contract. He was coming off a monster year with the Philadelphia Eagles and was expected to make an already-deep 49ers defensive line even better.
It just never really worked out as planned.
Hargrave certainly wasn't bad (he still recorded seven sacks and was named to the Pro Bowl roster), but he also probably wasn't an $84 million player — and certainly not what the 49ers were expecting. Given his salary they need to see more from him in 2024, and he needs to produce more since he could be a potential cut after the season.
More must-reads:
- PFF examines pros and cons of 49ers' free-agency moves
- How valuable is Brandon Aiyuk to the 49ers?
- The 'Losing quarterback from every Super Bowl' quiz
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Steelers Rookie's Injury Timeline Revealed
In a meaningless final preseason contest, the Pittsburgh Steelers watched as prized rookie defensive tackle Derrick Harmon was carted off the field in the first half. The team's first-round draft pick at the 2025 NFL Draft went down after a pass-rush attempt, but was able to exit under his own power before being taken off the field. Despite the scare, the Steelers’ newest starter appears to have avoided a major injury. Head coach Mike Tomlin frustratingly had no update on the player in the second half of their preseason finale against the Carolina Panthers, but before the game ended Harmon walked back onto the sidelines to rejoin his teammates. Following the game, Tomlin shared that Harmon suffered a knee sprain and is being evaluated. Shortly after, team insider Gerry Dulac provided further information on the situation. ”No. 1 pick Derrick Harmon has a knee sprain and will have an MRI tomorrow in Pittsburgh,” he said via his X account. “His injury is not season-ending but he is expected to be out at least a couple weeks, per sources.” With two weeks left until their regular season opener against the New York Jets, the team’s starting defense is at risk of beginning the season short-handed. For a team with championship ambitions, a long-term injury to Harmon was devastating, but a short-term one is still very costly. The immediate takeaway is the defensive line loses a starter, but the bigger hit comes beyond the starting 11. Without Harmon, the pressure and strain on the line depth only increases. Entering the season, the position is one of the team’s deepest, but they had no intentions of testing that immediately. Now, fellow starters Cam Heyward and Keeanu Benton will be on the field more. So will rookie Yahya Black and possibly Isaiahh Loudermilk. The depth is still there, but without Harmon it goes from a potential difference-maker to potentially even larger issue. Further complicating the matter is the uncertainty surrounding top lineman Cam Heyward. The 36-year-old leader of the locker room is seeking a restructured deal, and recently held-in and did not participate in team activities as training camp concluded. Harmon was the solution to any Heyward problem. If he sat out Week 1, they still had two starters. Now, they are at risk of losing two starters before the regular season begins. The Steelers are hoping and praying this injury continues to be less severe than initially thought, and that the top pick can make it back in time for the regular season opener. That won’t be fully known, however, until this MRI reveals any additional injury concerns for the Steelers.
Kent Hughes requested Nick Suzuki approval before making trade
As captain of the Montreal Canadiens, it’s clear that Nick Suzuki gets a lot of respect from the fans and everyone in the organization; however, a sneak peek of the Montreal Canadiens show on Crave, "The Rebuild: Behind The Scenes," shows that GM Kent Hughes asked Suzuki’s opinion before pulling the trigger on the Patrik Laine trade. The fact that Suzuki has this much say in things with the higher-ups proves just how much respect he has with them. This also isn’t the first time we’ve heard that Suzuki was involved in a big decision for the team. It’s well known that Suzuki and Hughes spoke just after the Four Nations break, where the captain pleaded with his GM on behalf of his teammates to not sell any players at the trade deadline as they all wanted to stay together as a group. Hughes told Suzuki that the team must prove themselves to be worthy of staying in the mix until the deadline. Following that chat, the Canadiens went 5-0-1 up until the deadline, placing themselves right in the middle of the mix. Hughes listened to his captain, and the team managed to sneak into the playoffs as a result. While this was more of an agreement between the two, it still shows that Hughes respects Suzuki’s word. Another thing that Suzuki has managed to change within the organization is that morning skates are now at the Bell Centre as opposed to Brossard, as they were before the 2023-24 season. Suzuki argues that skating at the Bell Centre would motivate the players more during the skate. Suzuki is also the reason why Juraj Slafkovsky never went to Laval when he was struggling early in the 2023-24 season. When things weren’t going well early in the Slovak’s career, it was Suzuki who told management to keep him in Montreal and have him play on his line. It turns out that decision proved to be the best thing for Slafkovsky as he’s managed 2 50-point seasons since then, and their line with Cole Caufield is considered a top 10 trio in the entire league. It seems like there is always a new story on just how influential Suzuki is on everyone throughout the Habs organization. Now, we are talking about how Suzuki also has enough influence on the team to have input on a trade before it happens. In that clip, it seemed Suzuki was excited for Laine to come to Montreal — and with good reason, as the Canadiens got a former 40-goal scorer with the potential to do it again. As a fan, it’s hard to know what else Suzuki has influence on when it comes to management and the higher-ups, but it does seem as captain that he is the perfect bridge between management and the players. Not only does he help the players with their demands, but the fact that he tries to make things work for management when dealing with the players just proves why he was born to be an NHL captain. Maybe we will see more situations where management and Suzuki discuss things on behalf of the team as the second season of "The Rebuild" progresses. With the success the Canadiens had during the 2024-25 season, this season of "The Rebuild: Behind The Scenes" should be a fun one to watch.
NASCAR official sheds light on Bubba Wallace's Richmond penalty
Bubba Wallace had never found much success at Richmond Raceway, but looked poised to deliver a breakthrough performance there on Saturday night. Wallace led 123 laps on the night and won Stage 2 after finishing second in the opening stage to 23XI Racing teammate Tyler Reddick. Everything changed for the Brickyard 400 winner during a green-flag stop with 110 laps to go. As Wallace exited his stall, he lost his left-front tire and pulled into fellow Toyota driver Chase Briscoe's stall to get the tire back on prior to returning to the track. While the decision to pit in another box forced Wallace to serve a pass-through penalty, NASCAR Cup Series Managing Director Brad Moran said the sanctioning body viewed his actions as the safest move in that scenario. "The last thing we want is a wheel coming off on the race track. Obviously, the penalties ramp up when you leave pit road and a wheel falls off," Moran said, per NASCAR.com. "But truthfully, really what it is, it's just pitting out of the box is how we look at it. We do not want tires out on the race track, so if it can be avoided, we certainly would like to see that. So, the rule was set that if you happen to lose a tire and you can get it changed in a teammate's box, that's fair game before you leave and you will be penalized for pitting out of the box." This was the second time this season a driver made the abrupt decision to stop in another driver's box after losing a wheel on pit road. Back in March at Las Vegas, Christopher Bell did the same thing and, ironically enough, also stopped in Briscoe's box to get the wheel secured. Although Wallace ultimately finished two laps down in 28th, he appeared to have one of the best cars in the field until the pit road mishap derailed his race. He had only led 83 laps combined and recorded one top 10 in his previous 13 starts at Richmond, so the time he spent at the front was a major step in the right direction. Had the wheel come off on the track, two crew members would have received a two-race suspension, meaning the No. 23 team would not have been at full strength for the playoff opener at Darlington on Aug. 31. Instead, the on-the-spot decision-making kept that from happening on what was shaping up to be a career night at the "Action Track" for Wallace.
Insider Shares Details on Steelers, Gabe Davis Visit
The Pittsburgh Steelers recently got a second look at former Jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver Gabe Davis, who they brought in for a second visit this summer. Davis first came to Pittsburgh early in the summer, just after mini camp. Then, he returned just after training camp. And one team insider is offering an update on how things went. Davis, 26, had his season cut short after just 10 games in 2024 due to a meniscus injury in his knee. After spending the year on Injured Reserve, the Jaguars released him after just one season. He then visited multiple teams, but did not sign. According to WDVE's Mike Prisuta, that's because the team - and other teams - have not liked what they have seen during their medical evaluations. "Gabe Davis was brought in for a medical follow-up," Prisuta said. "And when he came in free agency, the Steelers did not like, and subsequently other teams have not liked, what they saw from MRIs or whatever it was that they looked at following that knee injury that ended his season last year." Davis left Pittsburgh after his second interview and went to Buffalo to visit the Bills. The young veteran spent four years with the Bills, catching 27 touchdown passes with them and becoming a reliable starter for Josh Allen. Now, he's considering a reunion with his former employer. Pittsburgh is interested in adding a wide receiver before the start of the regular season, and Davis remains a top option. They have not been able to land anyone else to this point after calling teams like the Washington Commanders for Terry McLaurin and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for Jordan Palmer. Calvin Austin III is set to be their starter alongside DK Metcalf, but after dealing with an oblique injury most of training camp and all of the preseason, it's unknown if he'll be ready before Week 1 against the New York Jets. If the Steelers got a better result from Davis's MRI this time around, he may be a top priority signing for them in the coming days. If not, they're likely ready to move in a different direction to find a wide receiver addition.
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