Kyle Shanahan's Latest Quote Proves How Tone-Deaf He is About His Legacy

Kyle Shanahan might be one of the best offensive minds in the NFL currently, but boy, does he set a bad precedent on how to coach during the Super Bowl. He was offensive coordinator for the Atlanta Falcons when they blew a 28-3 lead to the New England Patriots in Super Bowl LI, and he topped himself this year when losing to the Kansas City Chiefs as head coach of the San Francisco 49ers.

But don't tell Shanahan that, because he expressed his belief that he didn't blow anything in Super Bowl LIV this past February.

Kyle Shanahan on the Super Bowl loss to the Chiefs: “It wasn’t like we blew anything.”
— Grant Cohn (@grantcohn) April 30, 2020

"This one was different to me,” Shanahan said, via NBC Sports Bay Area. “We were up 10. It's not like we blew a huge lead -- it was two possessions, and on those two possessions they scored and on our two possessions we didn't convert a third down."

Look, we get it, Kyle. You're trying to downplay the collapse you endured in your second trip to the Super Bowl as a coach, but no one's going to believe you here.

Sorry to break it to you, but it's the truth.

The 49ers defense imposed their will on the Chiefs offense through three quarters of the big game down in Miami. San Francisco took a 20-10 lead after a Raheem Mostert rushing touchdown, which came a few plays after linebacker Fred Warner intercepted a pass from Kansas City quarterback Patrick Mahomes. All Shanahan had to do was use his potent rushing attack and kill the clock.

Call it whatever you want to call it. Frame it anyway you want, but the facts are the facts. #49ers had 10-point lead w/6min left in 4Q and couldn’t finish, couldn’t get a 1st down on offense to put the game away. As you all can tell, I’m over it. https://t.co/QZAsb1CeJo
— Larry Krueger (@sportslarryknbr) April 30, 2020

He did no such thing.

Instead, Shanahan called passing plays in the fourth quarter, which is something you simply shouldn't do while trying to protect a lead! He did the same thing with the Falcons in Super Bowl LI, and had a repeat performance this year. Those mind-numbing play calls resulted in the 49ers leaving adequate time on the clock for Kansas City's offense to come back and eventually take the lead and the Lombardi Trophy.

Shanahan should take some time to re-watch Super Bowl LIV to see that he definitely did blow the thing. The Chiefs were dead to rights, but Shanahan's decision-making brought them back to life. It's as simple as that.