Kyle Shanahan is widely recognized as one of the NFL’s best active coaches. But coaching legacies are built on Super Bowl rings, and that particular piece of jewelry has evaded the 44-year-old throughout his otherwise successful career.
Can the San Francisco 49ers coach ditch the brewing narrative about his Super Bowl shortcomings and finally win the big one?
“You’d love to fix perception because I’d love to win one for what I know about football,” Shanahan said in an end-of-season press conference Tuesday. “And I know if I fix perception, it means I did everything I wanted to do, which isn’t fix perception—it’s win a damn Super Bowl.”
Shanahan fell to 0–2 in Super Bowls as a head coach after the 49ers lost 25–22 to the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday. He was also the Atlanta Falcons’ offensive coordinator when they infamously blew a 28–3 lead to Tom Brady and the New England Patriots in Super Bowl LI.
Since he was handed the reins to the organization in 2017, Shanahan has led the 49ers to an 8–4 postseason record across four playoff appearances. Shanahan has never lost in the wild-card or divisional rounds, but his résumé includes a pair of Super Bowl losses to coach Andy Reid, quarterback Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs.
“These two Super Bowls have been tough losing to Kansas City,” Shanahan said. “But to think that if we win, that means I can win a big game? No, that means our team won the Super Bowl.
“To say the Niners can’t win a big game would be an extremely inaccurate statement.”
The 49ers now will embark on another important offseason, one that could determine if Shanahan and company can finally get over the hump next February.
