HENDERSON, Nev. — Kyle Shanahan has coached in two previous Super Bowls and they both ended in crushing fashion.
“I’ve been able to coach in two Super Bowls and both of them are heartbreaking,” Shanahan said on Tuesday. “Those things last a while. But it’s all about getting back there again, and that’s what I’m excited for today.”
Shanahan gets another chance to write another chapter in his Super Bowl history on Sunday when the 49ers take on the Kansas City Chiefs at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas.
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Shanahan universally is regarded as one of the NFL's top coaches, but his story cannot be told without mention of those two excruciating Super Bowls losses.
He was the offensive coordinator of the Atlanta Falcons when they blew a 28-3 second-half lead in a 34-28 loss to the New England Patriots in Super Bowl LI. Three years later, Shanahan was head coach when the 49ers could not hold a 10-point fourth-quarter lead against the Chiefs.
“I remember seeing my dad after those Super Bowl when he was a coordinator in Denver when I was younger and how hard it was on him,” Shanahan said. “So I think any time you get that close and you lose the last one, that’s definitely the hardest.”
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Shanahan’s dad, Mike, was the Broncos’ offensive coordinator in two Super Bowl losses before he got his first ring as the 49ers’ offensive coordinator in January 1995.
Mike Shanahan went back to the Broncos as head coach and ended up winning two consecutive Super Bowls in 1998 and 1999.
“All football games are hard to lose,” Shanahan said. “Each week you put so much into it and the more you coach, the more you realize that when you win, you’re just kind of relieved so you can get right to the next one and get ready.
“Everything is put into trying to get to the last week. You’re always hoping to be the team that wins the last game.”