For the past few weeks, especially since Fanatics Fest, the NFL has found itself making headlines in the wrestling world. Whether it’s the Tom Brady vs. Logan Paul discussion, Brady’s desire to showcase his athleticism in WWE, or Jake Paul’s interest in playing in the NFL, there’s been plenty of crossover between the two worlds. But years before all of that, San Francisco 49ers tight end George Kittle had his own showdown with head coach Kyle Shanahan during a vacation. And in the end, Kittle made sure to teach his coach a lesson.

“After every year, we go down to Cabo and hang out. This is probably like 4 or 5 years ago,” Kittle told Chris Simms. “We’re golfing with Kyle at his golf course, and I think it’s just me and my wife and him, his wife, and their kids. Me and Kyle are enjoying ourselves and having a couple drinks, and I think it’s hole 15 or 16, he’s like, ‘I think I can take you in a fight,’ and I was like, ‘Really? You think you can take me in a fight, Kyle’, and he’s like ‘Yeah, I think I could,’ and I’m like ‘Alright, bring it’.

“He kind of rushes me, and I pick him up, put him over my shoulder, walked him down to the beach, and put him in the ocean. I said, ‘You stick to coaching, and I’ll stick to football stuff.'”

Imagine being the 49ers’ head coach, you’ve one of the best and highest-paid tight ends in the league, who already has his fair share of injuries during a 9-year NFL career.

Any other head coach would probably prefer to keep his star player out of harm’s way. Kyle Shanahan, however, wasn’t that coach during his vacation with George Kittle. Fortunately, Kittle, standing 6-foot-4 and weighing around 250 pounds, had no trouble turning the tables on his coach and tossing him into the ocean. Otherwise, had Kittle suffered an injury, Shanahan might have found himself answering some difficult questions.

But Kittle probably knew taking down his head coach would be an easy job. After all, the 32-year-old tight end has been a fan of professional wrestling, especially of Penta, as he has often cited him as his favorite wrestler. In fact, Penta later gave Kittle a 49ers-themed lucha mask in 2022, after the 49ers played in Mexico.

That said, while Kittle surely defeated Shanahan, the off-field chemistry between the TE and HC is understandable. Shanahan drafted Kittle in the fifth round of the 2017 NFL draft in his first-year of head coaching. Since then, the 7-time Pro Bowler has spent his entire NFL career under Shanahan. Now, Kittle and Shanahan will start their tenth season together for the 49ers in 2026.