Kyle Shanahan afforded little time Thursday in responding to a Santa Clara County official's pointed criticism about playing through the COVID-19 pandemic.
"Someone who questions our values doesn't know us," Shanahan said. "It shows what we're dealing with. That' doesn't matter."
Earlier this week, Santa Clara County executive Dr. Jeff Smith questioned the 49ers' "values" and alleged they were putting players and the community in harm's way.
"Historically, sportsmanship has been about building a team and protecting that team. Coaches, managers and owners used to want to protect their players from harm," Smith told this news organization Monday: "Those values seem to have been placed on hold during the COVID pandemic.
"If leaders want to protect their teams and communities, they should not play anywhere until it is safe," Smith added. "One might envision a reemergence of team-building if the teams spent their time building a COVID relief fund for the community rather than trying to put the community at more risk."
After Sunday's win over the Los Angeles Rams, Shanahan praised his team's ability to play so well despite the uncertainty swirling after the county's surprise announcement Saturday about its contact-sports ban under stricter COVID-19 guidelines.
Shanahan, in that postgame press conference, lashed out at the surprise nature of the county's announcement, to which Smith fired back Monday and claimed the 49ers should have anticipated stricter measures amid the COVID-19 surge.
Thursday, Shanahan added: "I just like communication, that's all, and how people treat each other, most human beings. We've got to deal with the situation just like a lot of people are dealing with stuff ... all over the country. There's a way to (communicat) and that's what we were bothered with."
The 49ers (5-6) have since relocated to Glendale, Arizona, where they're holding practices and likely playing all their remaining regular-season games other than a Dec. 20 visit to the Dallas Cowboys.
"Here, the hotel and situation we're in is very safe," Shanahan said. "The city's a little different, just compared to where we were at. We'll try as hard as we can not to be a part of this city."
Upon arriving Wednesday night in Arizona, Shanahan huddled about 20 key players together and gave them a covert mission: Check your teammates' mental health.
Unlike NBA players who could mingle easier inside their Florida bubble earlier this year, the 49ers are essentially stuck in the hotel rooms and only see teammates on video conferences and a couple hours on the practice fields.
"It's not like we're in a bubble hanging out," Shanahan said. "Those things will build up on guys and each will handle it differently.
"I just tried to tell everyone when someone has a problem, whatever it is, there's no problem too big or too small, and a lot of guys keep that stuff internally."
The 49ers have used a team record 74 players through 11 games, and while there are constantly new faces arriving as reinforcements, safety precautions keep the 49ers apart. Hence, Shanahan's directive to watch out for teammates who may be struggling away from friends and family.
"It's understanding there is human nature that some stuff is going to come up over the next three weeks, and no one ignore it, just always bring it to someone's attention because the worst thing you can be in these situations is to feel kind of alone on an island.
"We've got a big group going through it so we can rally together and make sure we help each other through it."
Before they skipped town, the 49ers indeed helped the Santa Clara County community.
Last week, their players and coaches teamed with Second Harvest Food Bank to donate over 700 Thanksgiving meals to families, and, also last month, the 49ers sponsored 800 meals to five local beneficiaries that Guy McIntyre, their director of alumni relations, helped deliver.
