Towards the end of 'Pulp Fiction', before Jules and Vincent head to the diner where the movie famously starts, they enquire with Winston Wolf as to the status of the issue with which they requested his assistance.
Jules asks: "We cool?" Mr. Wolf, emerging from 'Monster Joe's' auto parts yard having successfully disposed of their problematic car, replies: "Like it never happened."
San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan used more words to describe the status of his relationship with All-Pro wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk after he finally agreed a contract extension last week following a very fractious stand-off. However, Shanahan's sentiment was the same.
Speaking at a press conference on Thursday ahead of Monday's season opener with the New York Jets, Shanahan was asked if there were any lingering problems from the contract saga.
"It resolved itself perfect, just back to normal," he replied. "Things get tough, especially when it can go a number of directions. That’s what I was saying to you guys from the beginning. It could have gone a number of directions. There were times that he possibly could be traded, there were times when he could possibly be here.
"That’s what was hard about the whole negotiation thing and that is what made it different than usual. We’d never gone through it being so close both ways. And for it to end up working out here that, in the beginning we wanted him here. B.A. wanted to be here and we all wanted to make that work out. And really in the end, that was still the case.
"And you’ve got to go through that and make sure you’re talking to people as humans and both sides need to understand when you’re talking that way you’re not negotiating, you’re trying to tell each other how you truly feel.
"And when that is the same way as it was six months before that, those things are easy to get over. You’ve just got to make sure that’s truly how you feel. You could feel that leading into it the last few days. I think that’s what made it easier to close it and get it done those last couple days. And that’s been awesome ever since like nothing ever happened.”
The end of the Aiyuk's impasse was closely following by the conclusion of All-Pro left tackle Trent Williams' holdout as he agreed a reworked contract with the Niners.
Shanahan is obviously delighted to have the bulk of his roster back on the field ahead of their primetime curtain raiser, with star running back Christian McCaffrey out there once again following a calf issue .
But Shanahan, who is hoping to have All-Pro safety Talanoa Hufanga available for the first time since tearing his ACL last November, is not allowing any complacency to creep in just because Aiyuk and Williams have returned to the fold.
“I love going through a whole training camp and knowing exactly what you’ve got right away and just preparing everyone for Week 1 and then working off that. It is a little different when your left tackle hasn’t been there, your guards, your running back and your starting receiver," said Shanahan.
"Then you’ve got also [LB Dre] Greenlaw, you’ve got Huf. But those guys, Huf has got a possibility this week. Greenlaw we’re going to have to wait on. But the guys on offense, there’s the little question marks with the injuries and the guy’s not here and then all of a sudden they are here, the guys are healthy. But, we’ve still got to work.
"It’s awesome to have our guys back. I feel so good about our team especially being able to finish these and get those two guys back contractually, get some of the health back that guys have been missing on offense which feels great. But now I’m all about going to work and usually you start that pretty early in training camp.
"I’ve got a lot of confidence in these guys that they’re conditioned, they’ve done everything. But football’s about playing as a team and having 11 guys move together and that’s what we’re trying to get done in these practices."
Related: Kyle Shanahan reveals the winner of a key San Francisco 49ers position battle ahead of season opener
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