Kyle Shanahan believes Christian McCaffrey may have had completely different thoughts on the day he married his now wife Olivia Culpo.
The 49ers head coach referenced the couple’s dream wedding in June this week when discussing the 28-year-old star running back’s passion for the game since a calf strain hampered him for much of his training camp.
“When you’re hurt, you’re hurt, you can’t walk. But when you’re doing every rep, every pass, everything you do, you’re just so conscious and stuff,” Shanahan told reporters. “When he’s probably walking down the aisle to get married, he’s probably thinking about his feet and how to do the routes, nothing against Olivia. But he’s obsessed with it. And so when you get into these situations where you’re hurt and you can’t do all that, at least he’s put in the work beforehand.
“So that stuff is coming back quickly. He knows what it takes to play in this game, especially at his level.”
Shanahan, who led the 49ers to the Super Bowl in February before losing 25-22 to the Chiefs in overtime, attended McCaffrey’s wedding in Rhode Island earlier this summer.
The reigning Offensive Player of the Year married Culpo, a former Sports Illustrated Swimsuit staff member, at Watch Hill Chapel in Westerly and then celebrated at the luxurious Ocean House Resort.
Among the 49ers in attendance were tight end George Kittle and fullback Kyle Juszczyk.
According to Culpo, McCaffrey had a bit of a false start in the chapel when he blurted out, ‘I do!’ within the first 30 seconds of the ceremony.”
“The priest told him we weren’t ready yet, and our family and friends laughed at his impatience. There’s no better feeling for a bride than when her husband can’t wait a second longer to marry you,” Culpo, 32, told Vogue.
The couple announced their engagement for 2023 after getting together in 2019.
McCaffrey, a three-time Pro Bowler, is entering his second full season in San Francisco.
He spent the first five and a half seasons of his NFL career with the Panthers before being traded to the 49ers in 2022.
The 49ers finish the preseason against the Raiders on Friday before hosting the Jets in their season opener on Monday Night Football on September 9.
