Henderson, Nevada— Both Super Bowls Kyle Shanahan coached ended in devastating ways. Shanahan said Tuesday, “I’ve been able to coach in two Super Bowls and both of them are heartbreaking.” “They last long. However, returning there is what excites me today.”
Sunday at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Shanahan will try to create another Super Bowl chapter with the 49ers against the Kansas City Chiefs.
Shanahan is widely recognized as one of the NFL's best coaches, yet his biography cannot be written without mentioning his two heartbreaking Super Bowl defeats.
He was the Atlanta Falcons' offensive coordinator when they lost Super Bowl LI to the Patriots 34-28 after a 28-3 second-half lead. Three years later, Shanahan was head coach when the 49ers lost a 10-point fourth-quarter lead against the Chiefs.
“I remember seeing my dad after those Super Bowls when he was a coordinator in Denver when I was younger and how hard it was on him,” Shanahan said. "Anytime you get that close and lose the last one, that's the hardest."
Before becoming the 49ers' offensive coordinator in January 1995, Shanahan's father, Mike, was the Broncos' offensive coordinator in two Super Bowl defeats. Mike Shanahan again coached the Broncos to two Super Bowl titles in 1998 and 1999.
“All football games are hard to lose,” Shanahan added. Each week you put so much into it, and the more you coach, the more you understand that after you win, you're relieved to get to the next one and prepare.
“Everything is done to reach the last week. You always want to win the last game.”
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