Kyle Shanahan reveals story behind his ‘weird’ college tattoo with Chris Simms

San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan has explained how a college prank led him to get a tattoo he never wanted. He agreed to get one if teammate Chris Simms did, expecting Simms to refuse; when Simms arrived with a tattoo the next day, Shanahan felt obliged to keep his word.

Shanahan told the story on Simms’s podcast, describing the tattoos as “weird”. Five Texas Longhorns freshmen, including Shanahan and Simms, got matching designs featuring one another’s initials, with Shanahan’s placed near his lower ankle. Decades later, Shanahan works in team coaching and Simms in football media; the 49ers are pursuing Super Bowl ambitions in 2026.