Kyle Shanahan can’t wait for this chance to avenge past Super Bowl letdowns

Ralph Vacchiano

NFC East Reporter

HENDERSON, Nev. — Kyle Shanahan still remembers the pain in his father’s face when Mike Shanahan lost his first two Super Bowls as the offensive coordinator of the Denver Broncos. And he experienced it for himself, too, on the losing end of the only two Super Bowls he’s reached.

That’s why the biggest lesson the San Francisco 49ers head coach takes from his personal Super Bowl hell is the obvious one:

Losing hurts. A lot. And getting over it takes a very long time.

“In terms of pain, I broke my arm and my collarbone and a lot of things,” he said on Tuesday at the Hilton Lake Las Vegas Resort & Spa, the 49ers’ team hotel for the Super Bowl. “Those are more painful. But (losing a Super Bowl) lasts a while.

[Read more: Kyle Shanahan’s influence is all over the NFL. All that’s missing is a Super Bowl title]

“Until you get back there again.”

Shanahan is back again, getting ready to face the AFC Champion Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LVIII on Sunday at Allegiant Stadium, where he’s hoping for a far better outcome than the last two times he got this far. His last two Super Bowl experiences had miserable endings. He was the Atlanta Falcons offensive coordinator in Super Bowl LI when they famously blew a 28-3 third quarter lead and lost to the New England Patriots in overtime, 34-28. And he did it again, three years later, as the head coach of the 49ers in Super Bowl LIV, when they blew a 20-10 fourth-quarter lead and lost these very Chiefs, 31-20.

Not surprisingly, Shanahan has not wanted to dwell publicly on either loss this week, except to acknowledge that the second loss — his only one as a head coach — was the one he considers the most painful. He said he did learn some practical lessons from his Super Bowl experiences, but nothing that he didn’t already know — like keeping the focus this week on business, not fun.

That’s a lesson he hopes the 11 current 49ers who were on the…


Source link : https://www.foxsports.com/stories/nfl/kyle-shanahan-cant-wait-for-chance-avenge-past-super-bowl-letdowns

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Publish date : 2024-02-07 16:35:30

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