People don’t like to talk about it, but we’re all gonna die. You don’t have a letter with an expiration date on your life. One person knows my expiration date: God. …
“Fulfilling your purpose while you’re here is more important than trying to figure out how long you’re gonna live.”
Holland is in his seventh season with the 49ers and fourth as the team’s linebackers coach. A relapse of his illness in 2021 forced him to step away from his role with the 49ers from Sept. 2021 until his official return that next spring. These days, in Holland’s 22nd season as an NFL assistant, the coach returns to work after undergoing treatment to attack an illness for which there is no cure.
“When he first told me he was doing that, I was like, ‘You’re joking, right?’” Holland’s nurse, Samantha Shenoy, told King. “It’s mind-blowing to me he’s able to do all that and keep going.”
Under Holland’s watch, star 49ers linebacker Fred Warner has reached First-Team All-Pro status and the Pro Bowl three times — 2020, 2022 and 2023. Holland is revered by the players he coaches, and Warner is no different. He told King that even in the face of his cancer, Holland’s leadership and love for life never has waned — and that approach has rubbed off on the All-Pro.
