San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan has coached in three different Super Bowls – one as an offensive coordinator and two as a head coach. In each one, he his team has had a fourth-quarter lead, but he’s lost every single one of them, including this year’s game against the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday night.
During his postgame press conference, Kyle Shanahan was asked to address the gutting loss in the context of the other two times he has seen his team blow a fourth-quarter lead in the Super Bowl.
“There’s nothing different to say, I mean I don’t care how you lose when you lose Super Bowls, especially ones you think you can pull off, it hurts,” Shanahan said according to Pro Football Talk after the game. “When you’re in the NFL, I think every team should hurt, except for one at the end. We’ve gotten pretty damn close, but we haven’t pulled it off. We’re hurting right now, but it doesn’t take away from how proud of our guys I am. I’m really proud of them today, too. As part of sports, as part of football, as part of life, as part of life. I’m glad we put ourselves out there. I love our team. We’ll recover, and we’ll be back next year strong.”
It’s certainly not the end to the season that Shanahan had hoped for, especially after the way his previous trips to the Super Bowl went. But the only thing he can do now is rally his team and prepare to try again next season.
