Kyle Shanahan leaned over on the San Francisco 49ers sideline, cracked a small white capsule, and took a violent hit of ammonia gas. His head snapped back. His eyes widened. It wasn't a medical emergency. It was a calculated jolt to the nervous system. While fans are used to seeing defensive linemen huffing "stinkies" before a goal-line stand, seeing a head coach do it during a game against the Seattle Seahawks caught people off guard. It shouldn't have.
NFL coaching is a grueling, twelve-hour mental marathon performed under stadium lights and national scrutiny. If players use ammonia to wake up their bodies, coaches use it to clear the mental fog that settles in by the fourth quarter. It's about a physiological reset.
The Science of the Ammonia Snap
Smelling salts aren't performance-enhancing drugs in the way steroids are. They don't build muscle. They don't make you faster. What they do is trigger the inhalation reflex. When you crack a capsule of ammonium carbonate mixed with ethanol, the noxious fumes irritate the membranes in your nose and lungs.
This irritation triggers a sudden burst of activity in the sympathetic nervous system. Your heart rate jumps. Your blood pressure spikes. Your brain receives a frantic signal that says, "Hey, something is wrong, wake up right now." For a coach like Shanahan, who spends hours staring at a play sheet with tiny font, that sudden surge of adrenaline can be the difference between a sharp play call and a delay of game penalty.
Most people think these are a relic of Victorian era "fainting couches." Back then, women wore corsets so tight they couldn't breathe and would pass out. Doctors used ammonia to shock them back to consciousness. In the NFL, the "fainting" is purely mental. It’s a way to bypass the exhaustion of a three-hour game.
Why Coaches Are Joining the Trend
Football players have used smelling salts since the 1900s. You’ve seen the videos of Tom Brady or Peyton Manning making a face like they just inhaled a dumpster fire. But the shift toward coaches using them points to the evolving intensity of the job.
Coaches aren't just standing there. They're managing a hundred variables. They have headsets chirping in both ears. They’re watching the play clock, the down and distance, and the substitution packages.
Shanahan is known for his obsessive attention to detail. He’s the primary play-caller. That means he's "on" for every single offensive snap. By the time the mid-fourth quarter rolls around, the brain starts to lag. Decisions that took half a second in the first quarter might take a full second in the fourth. Ammonia cuts through that lag.
It's a visceral experience. You see the physical reaction immediately. The nostrils flare. The eyes water. For a brief window of maybe thirty seconds to two minutes, the user feels hyper-alert.
The Placebo Effect and Routine
There is a psychological component here that most analysts ignore. NFL players and coaches are incredibly superstitious. Routine is everything. If a coach sniffs ammonia before a successful drive, he’s going to do it again the next week.
It becomes a "battle cue." It tells the brain that it’s time to go to work. Even if the physiological effects of the ammonia wear off quickly, the mental shift stays. It’s a ritualistic way of flipping the switch from "managing the game" to "winning the game."
Health Risks and the Dark Side of the Snap
You can’t talk about smelling salts without mentioning the risks. They aren't harmless candy. The primary danger isn't the ammonia itself, but what it masks.
In the past, players used smelling salts to "clear their head" after a big hit. This is incredibly dangerous. If a player has a concussion, ammonia might make them feel alert for a second, but it does nothing to heal brain trauma. In fact, the sudden "head snap" reflex caused by the salts can actually make a neck injury worse.
For a coach, the risks are lower because they aren't suffering from physical impact. However, frequent use can irritate the nasal passages. If you do it too often, you can damage the delicate tissues in your nose. There’s also the issue of dependency. Not a chemical addiction, but a mental one. If you feel like you can’t call a good game without a hit of ammonia, you’ve got a problem.
Medical professionals generally advise against long-term use. The irritant is toxic in large doses. While the small ampules used on the sidelines are relatively safe, they aren't "healthy." They are a tool of desperation used in a high-stakes environment.
The NFL Stance on Ammonia
The league doesn't ban smelling salts. They aren't on the banned substance list because they don't provide a lasting unfair advantage. They are viewed more like caffeine or an energy drink—a legal way to boost alertness.
Other sports have different views. In some powerlifting circles, they are ubiquitous. In boxing and MMA, they are often banned during the fight because they can hide the symptoms of a concussion, preventing a ref or doctor from stopping a fight that should be over.
The NFL allows them because the "performance" boost is purely about focus. As long as they aren't being used to hide head injuries, the league keeps its hands off.
Moving Beyond the Stink
If you're an athlete or a high-performer looking to mimic Shanahan, don't start by huffing chemicals. Most people don't need a sympathetic nervous system shock to get through a workday or a local gym session.
Start with better sleep hygiene. Most NFL coaches are notoriously sleep-deprived, which is why they turn to these extremes. If you’re getting eight hours of sleep, you don't need ammonia to stay sharp.
Hydration and electrolyte balance also play a huge role in fourth-quarter fog. Before you reach for a smelling salt, reach for water and salt. Most "brain fog" is actually just mild dehydration or a lack of sodium.
If you absolutely feel the need to try them, do it sparingly. Don't make it a habit. Use them only when the stakes are at their highest and you need that thirty-second window of clarity. Buy the single-use "snap" ampules rather than the bulk bottles of liquid ammonia to avoid accidental chemical burns or over-exposure.
Pay attention to your body’s natural signals. If you're constantly exhausted, the solution isn't a stronger stimulant. It's recovery. Kyle Shanahan might need that edge to win a Super Bowl, but for the average person, it's just a recipe for a burnt nose and a temporary headache.
