Shanahan with try at history
Also a chance to heal old wounds
MIAMI — Former Texas receiver Kyle Shanahan has a chance to make history Sunday when his San Francisco 49ers take on the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LIV at Hard Rock Stadium.
Shanahan’s father, Mike, won two Super Bowls as head coach of the Denver Broncos. But before the son can match the father, he must heal an old wound and gain a measure of redemption.
As much as he wants to forget and move on, Shanahan is intrinsically linked to arguably the biggest choke job in Super Bowl history: The Atlanta Falcons blew a 28-3 second-half lead in Super Bowl LI and lost 34-28 to the New England Patriots in overtime.
It is also not lost on anyone that Shanahan’s 49ers are at the doorstep of greatness because of his stubborn penchant to pound the running game. This comes three years after his refusal to run as the Falcons offensive coordinator cost his former team a chance at immortality.
Given that he was introduced as 49ers coach just days after the Super Bowl loss, given that our future is often forged by our past experiences, it is not a leap to think that frustrations of that fateful second half against the Patriots helped fuel the fire that led to this opportunity at redemption.
What’s important is that he has learned from it. Here are the facts. Shanahan played at Texas, where he was best friends with quarterback Chris Simms. He quickly rose in the NFL coaching ranks, thanks largely to this father’s ties, with offensive coordinator stints with the Houston Texans and Washington
Redskins before he became the next big thing with Atlanta Falcons, who entered Super Bowl LI with the league’s best offense.
Offensive coordinators don’t get attention for running 32 toss power trap. It’s usually about their creativity founded on a high-octane passing attack.
But up 28-3 in the fourth quarter, there comes a point in the game when time is your friend. Running the ball shortens the clock, making it difficult even for Tom Brady to mount a comeback.
Yet Shanahan called just four running plays after going up 28-3.
The biggest regret came when the Falcons led 28-20 and had the ball at the Patriots’ 22-yard line. They were in field goal range and could have gone up by 11 points, essentially putting the game away by simply forcing the run.
But a first-down run that lost a yard was followed by a pass attempt and a sack for a 12-yard loss. The Falcons were then flagged for holding on another pass attempt. An incomplete pass was followed by a punt. The Patriots made it 28-28 on the ensuing possession, and the rest is history.
Shanahan regrets the pass attempt on second down.
“I was hoping we could just get rid of it, but they had a pretty good rush and got a sack,” Shanahan said. “Once that happened, I knew we had to throw because now we were out of field goal range.”
Has he learned and evolved as a play caller since that game?
“I don’t know,” Shananan said. “I thought I did a pretty good job that year. As a play caller, you’re as good as your last game. You go after all that stuff. You learn stuff from everything. People act like there were a bunch of big learning moments in that game. I wish I didn’t call that pass on second-and-11, but the learning moments never feel good. … I won’t say I ever relaxed in that Super Bowl, especially with Tom Brady having that ball, but that’s something that keeps you humble at every single moment until the game is over.”
Now consider the 49ers’ path to the Super Bowl with a 27-10 victory against the Minnesota Vikings in the divisional playoffs and a 3710 victory against the Green Bay Packers in the NFC championship game.
The 49ers ran it 47 times for 186 yards against the Vikings and 42 times for 285 yards against the Packers.
Quarterback Jimmy Garrapolo, whose average salary of $27.5 million makes him the highest paid player on the team, attempted only 27 passes in both games combined.
Asked by Fox announcer Terry Bradshaw about the run-dominant effort that put him on the brink of history, Shanahan said, “If it’s working, you stay with it.”
A lesson learned, now redemption and history await.