Deebo Samuel is entering Year 6 with Kyle Shanahan, but how has his coach evolved over the course of his NFL career?

During an interview with Kay Adams on the “Up & Adams” show, Samuel jokingly shared that he believes Shanahan has lightened up a bit when it comes to how he deals with players.

“Overall, Kyle hasn’t changed,” Samuel told Adams. “The way we practice, the way he approaches players. I said he has gotten a little soft on players since my first two years. Me and [Brandon Aiyuk] used to joke around with him like, ‘Bro, you done got soft, like how you coach people.’ Because me and [Aiyuk’s] first two years, you used to go to practice and be like, ‘Bro, we got to deal with Kyle today.

“Now he’ll be like, ‘Hey guys, good job! But you can do this better.’ It wasn’t like that my first two years.”

Shanahan notoriously earned a reputation as a coach that was very hard on young wide receivers, a right of passage Samuel and Aiyuk experienced firsthand during the early stages of their respective NFL careers.

San Francisco selected another young wide receiver in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft, taking Ricky Pearsall No. 31 overall. Adams asked Samuel if Shanahan was taking it easy on the rookie, which the All-Pro made sure to clarify by explaining that Pearsall isn’t exactly being coddled, but rather doesn’t have to deal with the ultra-hands on coaching style many 49ers veterans experienced in their careers.

“He [Shanahan] ain’t babying him [Pearsall] right now,” Samuel told Adams. “He ain’t on him like he was three, four years ago. But he ain’t babying them for sure.”

After players like Samuel and Aiyuk fought hard to avoid Shanahan’s fabled “doghouse,” it appears the 49ers coach has taken a new approach with how he addresses his players.

For what it’s worth, Samuel and Aiyuk both blossomed into All-Pro’s after Shanahan’s less-than-bubbly coaching mannerisms.

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