Maxx Crosby has made plenty of teams look silly for passing on him in the 2019 draft, but 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan revealed his even greater reason for regret from their conversations with the Raiders' star edge rusher when he entered the league.

The Raiders and the 49ers held the first of two joint practices on Thursday, and Crosby made a point of going up to Shanahan after he recorded a tackle for loss. 

Shanahan felt the need to display some contrition, apologising to Crosby for how the 49ers approached his pre-draft interview with Crosby.

Said Shanahan at his post-practice press conference:

"Oh, yeah, he came up and said what’s up. Just talked for a little bit, just some mutual respect there. He’s as good as it gets and I wanted to apologize to him because we were kind of jerks to him. I shouldn’t say that. But we’re kind of jerks to him in our interview when he came out of college and he’s really one of the coolest dudes I’ve been around or seen and he’s one of the best players in this league. So it’s cool to catch up with him."

Shanahan pinned the blame for the 49ers' interview tactic with Crosby on San Francisco's ultra-aggressive but tremendously successful defensive line coach Kris Kocurek.

"Oh, it was Kris Kocurek’s first interview and he had been at some other places where they liked to kind of attack the guys a little bit, rattle them. That’s not totally our style. And that was the first one up and after [General Manager] John [Lynch] was trying to touch his leg, like ‘Kris chill out a little bit’ and after he was like, ‘What did I do like we don’t really do this?’ And he’s like, ‘Sorry, my last coach really wanted me to do it that way.’ And he did it to like the coolest dude. So we always tell him that was all Kris, not us."

Shanahan praised Crosby for never wavering during that interview, describing the fourth-round pick as "a stud".

Crosby, for his part, made it clear there are no hard feelings at all from that initial meeting.

"I talked to him on the field. It was after one of the plays. I made a play and I was hype, and I'm talking shit to Kyle [Shanahan] and he was laughing at me. And I went up to him after the play and he was like, 'Yeah, man. I feel like an asshole about our interview we had with you in 2019.' And I remember it because Kris Kocurek was in there, John Lynch and Shanahan, and I feel like – it's nothing against them – I feel like every single team that I interviewed with didn't take me serious. I could name every team if I want, but I'm not going to do that."

Kocurek's way of doing things could potentially rub people the wrong way, but it's impossible to argue with the results.

He has developed a reputation as a defensive line coach with a knack for rehabilitating the careers of underperforming pass rushers and will look to turn around Crosby's former Raiders teammate Clelin Ferrell this year.

Per Sports Info Solutions, the 49ers were fourth in total pressures (298) and first in quarterback hits (181), and Crosby has a lot of admiration for Kocurek and the San Francisco D-Line.

"Oh, it was a great meeting. Honestly, I remember Korcurek was in there going through the meeting, and he was like, 'ALRIGHT!' He was yelling, but not mad, you know what I mean? His energy was crazy, but in a good way. And I liked that, because I'm used to it. Literally from a kid, my dad, he was loud. My college coach, I had [Rod] Marinelli – all those coaches are loud and proud, so Kocurek, he was cool. But the meeting was unique, and it just was what it was. But I love the way they coach over there. Obviously, Shanahan and those guys, Kris Kocurek and John Lynch, they have a great organization. It's no surprise that they're doing good things."

In the 2019 draft, the 49ers selected Nick Bosa second overall, getting the best player in the class who is now the reigning Defensive Player of the Year. They now have Ferrell, taken two picks later by the Raiders, on the roster, but their defensive line would be in an even more impressive position had the Niners used one of their subsequent selections on Crosby.

There's no hard feelings, but there's certainly plenty of cause for regret on the San Francisco side.

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