An episode of the Your Mom podcast featured three moms and zero NFL news breakers, and yet, the former became the latter serendipitously. This conversation went live in October 2022, as All-Pro running back Christian McCaffrey considered the unthinkable, perhaps leaving Carolina, and, if so, where he might end up.
One mom/host, the journalist Ashley Adamson Coakley, had no vested interest in the destination. The other mom/host, Lisa McCaffrey, cared a great deal. Their guest that day was Peggy Shanahan—wife of longtime NFL coach Mike, and mother to their two children, including Kyle, head coach in San Francisco. She also cared, but on two levels—one, for Christian as a person, owing to deep ties between their families; two, as a 49ers die-hard who wanted to add one of the NFL’s best players, regardless of position. “This is just funny,” Peggy said on the podcast. She had no idea.
All knew San Francisco ranked among the teams most interested in McCaffrey. So Lisa and Peggy joked about Christian landing in San Francisco, with the franchise his dad once played for and more ties between that team and his family than for any team, or any family, in pro football. “It was a harbinger,” Ed McCaffrey, Christian’s father, said in January, as the Niners sped back toward the NFC championship game.
