KYLE SHANAHAN FUMBLED HIS PHONE, HIS CAR, AND CALLS A PENALTY ON HIMSELF

Kyle Shanahan fumbled his phone, leading to a car accident.

By Errol Marks • Jul 29, 2026

You have to give Kyle Shanahan credit: How many people do you know actually walk up to the microphone and say, "Yeah...that one was my fault." In 2026, that's rarer than the Jets winning a Super Bowl.

For two weeks, everybody was blaming this poor 21-year-old woman. Social media had already convicted her, the internet detectives were writing crime documentaries, and then Kyle walks in like he's confessing at church.

Turns out the mastermind who designs one of the smartest offenses in football got defeated by a cell phone. Not the Rams. Not the Seahawks. Not the Eagles. A phone.

Kyle says he wasn't texting. He wasn't scrolling Instagram. He wasn't checking fantasy football. The phone slid off his lap, dropped between the seats, and he looked down for two seconds.

That's basically the NFL version of, "I only looked away for one play." Then, the airbags explode. A broken nose. A broken hand. Three broken ribs. Forty stitches over his eye. At this point, Kyle Shanahan looked like he had just gone 12 rounds with Mike Tyson.

The crazy part? His Tesla couldn't save him. Isn't this the same car that's supposed to stop you from hitting things? I thought Teslas were smarter than some NFL general managers.

Apparently the car said, "Coach...I've got the defense covered, but if YOU decide to go treasure hunting between the seats, you're on your own."

Kyle immediately wanted everyone to know the young woman wasn't responsible. He stood up and said, "I hit her." Simple. No excuses. No blaming technology. No blaming the sun. No blaming Roger Goodell. No saying the footballs were underinflated. Just..."I messed up." You know what? That's accountability. And in sports today, accountability shows up less often than the Cowboys in an NFC Championship Game.

Thankfully, nobody else was seriously hurt, and Kyle says he's lucky to be alive and lucky the other driver walked away safely. That's the real story. But let this be a lesson to everyone. If your phone falls between the seats...LET IT GO! That text can wait. That missed call can wait. Spotify can wait. Your fantasy football lineup can wait. Because unlike Kyle Shanahan, most of us don't get unlimited replay reviews in real life.

Kyle Shanahan didn't lose the game. He just lost to the only defender nobody can block: gravity.

I’m from a small town in Long Island. Growing up I was very competitive and very into sports. I followed teams like the Yankees, Jets, Knicks and the Islanders. I always had a love for sports, and my whole life I had dreams to become a professional athlete. However, this was short lived due to a knee injury. After many years of trying to figure out of what I wanted to do with my career, I found my true passion for radio. After college, I took part in a mentorship at CBS Sports Radio where I also had the opportunity to help produce with my mentor, Dan Schwartzman, host of “Going Deep” on NBC Sports Radio.