It's typical for there to be some friendly competition between friends, even those in the NFL who represent different teams.
Although, when Matt Ryan's Atlanta Falcons defeated the 49ers 29-22 last weekend, the quarterback chose to not rub the win in former coach Kyle Shanahan's face.
"You don't need to say anything after you've won, you know?" Ryan chuckled when he joined the "Stick to Football" podcast earlier this week.
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Matty Ice did reveal, however, that he stays in touch with Shanahan, who was an assistant coach in Atlanta the year Ryan captained the team to a Super Bowl appearance. And he even gave a little insight into why Shanahan has turned San Francisco into a successful team.
"I think, as a head coach, he knows exactly what he wants from the players," Ryan told the program. "He knows exactly what he's looking for at certain spots. That, first and foremost, is his greatest strength."
Shanahan won Assistant Coach of the Year honors for the 2016 season, in part because of his play-calling capacity and how well the Ryan-led offense was able to follow it. Ryan himself said that ability that makes Shanahan such a special coach.
"He has a great feel for play-calling and diagnosing how a defense is trying to take away certain things and then being able to expose that," Ryan said. "I was always impressed with that during my time with him."
San Francisco 49ers
It doesn't hurt, either, that San Francisco has some great weapons for Shanahan to work with these days.
"He knows exactly what he wants from X wide receiver, what he wants from his Z wide receiver, what his tight end looks like," Ryan said. "He has a pretty good one in (George) Kittle too, he's an X factor for them."
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But while coach and player represent different teams now, the two have remained friends.
"We stay in touch a lot, and I've texted him throughout the season," Ryan said. "I'm happy for his success because he's a good friend of mine and (we) certainly had a good working relationship together. I'm happy for him and he deserves it. He works extremely hard."
Ryan did add make sure to add on the podcast, however: "But it was nice to get the W on Sunday."