How Chris Foerster went from castoff to 49ers interim head coach

San Francisco 49ers assistant head coach Chris Foerster spoke to the media after he oversaw his first practice with Kyle Shanahan sidelined from injuries he suffered in a car accident.

Foerster expressed gratitude for the organization, especially for when he was at a low point in his own life.

“This organization did some things for me and pulled me in at a time in my life when nobody would really want to be with me,” Foerster said Sunday.

Nearly a decade ago, a video of Foerster snorting a white powdery substance before a meeting went viral on social media. The clip from 2017 was posted by Foerster’s alleged mistress when he was the offensive line coach for the Miami Dolphins.

“Hey, I miss you. … Thinking about you. … How about me going to a meeting and doing this before I go,” Foerster said in the video.

The then-55-year-old was one of the highest-paid assistant coaches in the NFL, but promptly resigned from his position and checked into rehab.

Foerster told NFL Network that he had used cocaine eight or nine days in a row during that period of the Dolphins season in September 2017, two weeks before a Las Vegas woman posted to video to social media.

Foerster has been vocal about his stained past and it was Shanahan who offered him a role on the 49ers staff as a consultant in 2019. There was no official announcement made.

Since then, Foerster continued turning his life around and climbed the ladder within the 49ers organization. He went from the assistant offensive-line coach in 2020 to the offensive-line coach in 2021.

Now, he’s filling in for Shanahan after he was involved in a horrific car crash near his home in Northern California. The 49ers head coach sustained a severe concussion as well as several broken bones that required Shanahan to be transported to a local hospital.

While he recovers this summer, the 49ers have turned to Foerster to coach the team in training camp. General manager John Lynch said it would be a “collective effort,” but Foerster is the acting interim head coach.

Reporters asked Foerster what was his reaction to Shanahan’s horrific accident while he was at the podium Sunday.

“I’m not gonna cry up here, but the thing is, the guy is family to me,” Foerster said of Shanahan. “I’ve known Kyle for a long time. He’s one of my best friends in the world. There’s not many people that I call friend. But Kyle is one of them.”

Foerster’s relationship with Shanahan began long before the 49ers head coach lent him a helping hand. The two worked on the same staff in Washington from 2010-13 with Los Angeles Rams head coach Sean McVay.

Shanahan was seen on the field over the weekend, wearing sunglasses to cover the black eyes he has from the accident.

“I told him he had a great disguise with the sunglasses on,” linebacker Fred Warner jokingly said.

As things stand, Foerster will handle the news conferences until Shanahan’s return so he will be a familiar face in the coming weeks.

The 49ers head coach once made a brave choice by working with Foerster. Now, Foerster has a chance to help Shanahan out as he recovers this summer.