5 people Jerry Rice has fallen out with ft. Kyle Shanahan
Jerry Rice is arguably the greatest wide receiver to have ever played in the NFL. However, his personality has sometimes clashed with others, leading to some infamous fall-outs.
The former San Francisco 49ers receiver was a consummate professional. He took football seriously, there was no other option for him, and he gave those who didn’t approach the game in the same way a short shrift.
Rice’s fallouts haven't always been limited to his years on the field either, with the veteran taking on a punditry role since retirement. It is here that he has clashed with a number of coaches, not least those in charge of his beloved 49ers.
Kyle Shanahan is the latest to be on the receiving end of a Jerry Rice tirade, linked to his use of Deebo Samuel. So, it feels like a good time to have a look at the list of people who have had a fall-out with Rice.
#1 Chip Kelly
Chip Kelly’s coaching career in the NFL never hit the heights his collegiate record promised. After failing with the Philadelphia Eagles, he was given another chance by the San Francisco 49ers.
However, Jerry Rice simply didn’t like the style of offense that Kelly promoted. The head coach's record in Santa Clara was nothing to brag about, which ultimately cost him his job. This was, however, not before he drew the ire of arguably the greatest 49er to ever play the game.
Rice wrote on social media:
“I’m watching Niners vs [Green Bay] Packers and hate the read option offense, can we bring back old football? I’m not bashing the Niners, it just throws the timing off, great players need chemistry and timing. #norhythm.”
#4 Kyle Shanahan
Kyle Shanahan has been at the center of the San Francisco 49ers’ resurgence in recent years. He steered the team to a Super Bowl appearance and reached the NFC Championship in 2021.
However, his tenure has been marked by a series of long-term injuries to key players which have often thrown the team’s season into decline. Just what the reason for these continued ailments is remains unclear, yet Jerry Rice believes the coach is primarily to blame.
Deebo Samuel left the field on a cart in tears after he appeared to suffer a serious ankle injury on Sunday. Samuel followed the likes of Trey Lance and Jimmy Garoppolo into the treatment room, much to the worry of the franchise's fans.
However, subsequent evaluations have stated that he will be back before the end of the regular season.
Whilst this was a moment of relief for Shanahan and San Francisco fans, Rice wasn’t at all happy with the cause of the injury and tweeted:
“Please stop running our skill player up the middle. Trey Lance, Jimmy Garoppolo and now Deebo Samuel all hurt.”
Jerry Rice is not happy https://t.co/LNEpIot4Sc
#3 Colin Kaepernick
Colin Kaepernick was at the epicenter of the battle to highlight social injustice in the United States of America and paid the price of his career for it. Whilst not officially blackballed by the NFL, Kaepernick has yet to receive a quarterback job since leaving the San Francisco 49ers.
His gesture of kneeling during the playing of the American national anthem was roundly criticized across the country, even by Jerry Rice.
Rice, an African-American who has long spoken about issues regarding race, may well have agreed with the logic and thought behind Kaepernick’s gesture. However, he simply couldn’t abide kneeling for the anthem.
It was this point of view which saw the retired receiver speak out against Kaepernick’s actions in a public way.
“All lives matter, so much going on in this world today, can we all just get along?
“Colin, I respect your stance, but don’t disrespect the flag.”
It was a controversial stance for Jerry Rice to take, especially given his own ethnicity. He was roundly criticized for his use of the phrase "all lives matter," which has been a popular trope used by those who stand against the Black Lives Matter movement.
#2 Bill Callahan
Bill Callahan’s role in the Oakland Raiders’ Super Bowl XXXVII defeat to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers is one of huge controversy.
As head coach of the Raiders going into the game, Callahan made the decision to totally change the offensive plan on the night before the game.
He had an extremely close personal relationship with Jon Gruden, the former Raiders coach who was by then employed in the same role by the Bucs. In 2013, a number of Raiders players accused Callahan of intentionally sabotaging the team ahead of the Super Bowl, ensuring they would lose.
Jerry Rice was a member of the Oakland roster at the time and was desperate to win another championship.
He was especially critical of Callahan’s work the day before the Super Bowl and explicitly accused his former coach of intentional sabotage.
Jerry Rice just now on NFL LIVE "believes" Tim Brown's theory that Bill Callahan sabotaging Super Bowl XXXVII for the Raiders, to be TRUE.
Rice said:
“I was very surprised that he waited till the last second and I think a lot of the players were also surprised. In a way, maybe because he didn’t like the Raiders he decided ‘Hey, look, maybe we should sabotage just a little bit and let Jon Gruden go out and win this one.’”
Rice would not back down from his belief, reiterating that changing a gameplan that close to the matchup wasn’t normal.
“I have played under Bill Walsh for many, many years, when you prepare for a game a certain way you don’t change anything on that given Friday. You do not change the gameplan on a Friday, two days before the Super Bowl.”
#1 Deion Sanders
There have not been two more juxtaposing characters in the NFL than Jerry Rice and Deion Sanders.
Whilst the pair have buried the hatchet in retirement and appear respectful towards each other, they had a huge rivalry during their playing careers.
Sanders, a cornerback of the highest standard, often went directly up against Rice in defensive coverage. However, for a year, they were teammates in San Francisco.
“I hated that guy [Deion Sanders], man, ah man, we couldn’t get along,” Rice detailed during an interaction.
When you have arguably the two best players to ever play in their respective positions going against each other, a professional rivalry was inevitable.
After five grueling years battling with the 49ers as a member of the Atlanta Falcons, "Primetime" joined the Jerry Rice in Red and Gold for the 1994 season.
Nobody thought the Niners could be stopped. They had football’s best offensive player and best defensive player. However, their contrasting personalities clashed. In the build-up to a Super Bowl matchup against the unfancied San Diego Chargers, Sanders was a little too relaxed for Rice’s liking.
Whilst nobody saw anything other than a San Francisco victory, Rice approached the game as professionally as any other. Sanders… didn’t. He would break curfew on the Wednesday before the game as he was at a party.
In a 'players only' meeting, Rice took exception to the cornerback’s actions and called him out on it. The legendary receiver suggested that there would be time for partying after the season’s most important game.
Whilst it was reported that the two nearly came to blows, the rest of the team agreed with Rice that Sanders had to be held accountable for his behavior.
A 49-26 blowout win followed for the San Francisco 49ers, with Sanders leaving Rice and the team for the Dallas Cowboys in the offseason. The relationship between the two players took years to repair.