Roger Goodell brushes off Kyle Shanahan’s Australia game complaint — and offers 49ers coach help

MELBOURNE, Australia — NFL commissioner Roger Goodell met Kyle Shanahan’s misgivings about the San Francisco 49ers’ season-opening trip to Melbourne with a shrug and a software suggestion, insisting the league will turn a logistical headache into “a great experience for the team.”

Speaking to reporters here Friday, Goodell acknowledged the 49ers head coach’s March lament that he sees “no pro” in flying roughly 19 hours to face the Los Angeles Rams at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Week 1 of the 2026 season. The matchup is part of a record nine-game international slate that will also send the Niners to Mexico City later in the year.

“Coaches have a focus on winning, that’s their number one job,” Goodell said, per CBS Sports. “Coach Shanahan is enthusiastic and a great football coach and also someone who truly understands the importance of expanding our game globally. But his job is to win. I always like to say that coaches like to play at 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. and don’t get in the way of that.”

Goodell, who arrived in Australia on Tuesday, said he planned to share a jet-lag-fighting app—first recommended by his wife—that eased his own transition across time zones. “I thought it was a relatively easy trip,” he noted, adding that league operations staff are working to ensure players and coaches are as comfortable as possible.

The 2026 international schedule will also feature games in Munich, Paris, Madrid, Rio and a three-game London series. For San Francisco, the Australia excursion carries added weight: the NFC West projects to be a dogfight, with the reigning Super Bowl-champion Seattle Seahawks returning much of their core and the Rams eager to steal a pivotal early tiebreaker.

San Francisco fortified its offense this offseason by acquiring wide receivers Mike Evans and Christian Kirk to pair with Christian McCaffrey and quarterback Brock Purdy after a 12-5 finish in 2025. How quickly the retooled unit adapts after the long haul down under could shape the division race from the opening kickoff.