Camera catches 49ers coach berating rookie after costly penalty vs. Dolphins

San Francisco 49ers rookie Ricky Pearsall had a costly drive with two mental mistakes, and his position coach let him hear all about it once he got to the sideline.

Pearsall was called for two illegal formation penalties in the third quarter of the Niners-Miami Dolphins game on Sunday, with each penalty pushing the 49ers out of the red zone. The second one was especially painful, as it wiped off a Deebo Samuel 16-yard catch on third-and-8 that would have put the Niners on the 2-yard line.

After the drive, wide receivers coach Leonard Hankerson laid into Pearsall on the bench, which the CBS broadcast showed from a camera behind the bench.

“There, a really heated little chat with Pearsall” pic.twitter.com/2tmIHiHMAW
— NFL on CBS 🏈 (@NFLonCBS) December 22, 2024

“A really heated little chat with Pearsall,” CBS play-by-play announcer Jim Nantz said on-air.

The penalties became even more costly for the Niners, too. After an incompletion on third-and-13, kicker Jake Moody hooked a 41-yard field goal kick to the left, meaning San Francisco didn’t get any points on the lengthy drive. 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan was visibly frustrated after Moody’s miss.

Pearsall has been given a long leash by the 49ers, which was understandable after he was shot in the chest in an attempted robbery in San Francisco just before the regular season and missed the first six games. But clearly, rookie mistakes like the two on Sunday were quite infuriating for the Niners.