The San Francisco 49ers held leads of 10-0, 16-13, 19-16 and 22-19 during Super Bowl LVIII on Sunday night against the Kansas City Chiefs.
Despite all of those advantages, head coach Kyle Shanahan’s crew was never ever able to close to door and ultimately fell in overtime, 25-22.
As Niners fans know, this wasn’t the first time when the team blew a golden chance at their sixth Super Bowl title on the biggest stage against the Chiefs with Shanahan at the helm.
As Josh Dubow of the Associated Press pointed out on Monday, the 44-year-old has now been a member of three historic Super Bowl losses.
In February 2020, the Jimmy Garoppolo-led 49ers had a 20-10 edge on the Chiefs late in the third quarter of Super Bowl LIV. Kansas City quarterback Patrick Mahomes helped the team on three scoring drives in the final frame and San Francisco saw its double-digit lead disappear in the 31-20 final.
That was Shanahan’s third season as the group’s leader and All-Pro linebacker Fred Warner recently said that the defeat “scarred (him) for life.”
Prior to coming to the Bay Area, Shanahan was the offensive coordinator of the Atlanta Falcons for the 2015 and 2016 campaigns.
Super Bowl LI took place in February 2017, still months before Mahomes would be drafted. Shanahan was tasked that winter with matching five-time Super Bowl MVP Tom Brady though, and, despite holding a 28-3 lead in the second half, Atlanta infamously lost in overtime, 34-28.