Kittle still gets advice from former 49ers tight ends coach Embry. Originally published NBC Sports Bay Area
The connections between the 49ers and Dolphins are deep and inclusive. George Kettles Coach Jon Embry’s strained relationship with Miami ended.
Embry was Kittle’s first NFL position coach when the 49ers drafted the All-Pro tight end in the fifth round. 2017 NFL Draft. The two still communicate today as coaches and players, but also as friends.
“I’ll get a random coaching point from him at 5 a.m. my time, 8 a.m. Miami time that says, ‘Your footwork was garbage last week,'” Kittle shared Thursday. “‘You need to straighten your stance. You have to stand like this.’ And I always appreciate these coaching points.
This is not normal protocol in the NFL where knowledge can be seen as power and opposing teams are expected to keep secrets. Coach Kyle Shanahan, however, understands the relationship between the two and appreciates anyone who helps his players improve.
“If they were in our own section, I would say yes,” Shanahan joked about whether the conversation was a form of teasing. “I’ll try to get back to them. But no, I love sending Jon those texts. Jon’s a great dude, a hell of a coach and that’s his style. He’s going to ride guys like that. I have no problem with him riding our boys if it helps him.
Kittle wasn’t always an All-Pro pass-catching tight end with just 48 receptions for 737 yards and 10 touchdowns during his four years at Iowa. Once in the Bay Area, Embry helped develop Kittle into the dominant force on offense that it is today.
“Coach Embry did a great job showing me the ropes, throwing me a life jacket because I was thrown overboard as a rookie,” Keitel said. “He said a lot of wonderful things that I still do today (like) not stepping out of bounds.”
Kittle quickly became a favorite target of now Los Angeles Rams quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo at the end of the 2017 season. In Week 16, the final game of the season, Kittle posted his first 100-yard receiving game, catching four of his six targets.
“It helped me develop the mindset that allowed me to become the player I am today,” Keitel said. “I owe a ton of my success to John Embry. He’s basically my dad in the NFL, if you take my dad out of it. Close friends, we always talk throughout the season.”
On December 8, 2024, Kittle registered his 19th 100-yard game when he caught all six of his targets for 151 yards in the 49ers’ win over the Chicago Bears. The tight end ranks third in franchise history behind only Hall of Famers Terrell Owens (25) and Jerry Rice (66).
