LAS VEGAS — Kyle Shanahan is no stranger to the Super Bowl.
The former Falcons offensive coordinator turned head coach of the juggernaut San Francisco 49ers will be coaching in his third Super Bowl in the past eight years on Sunday.
But he is still in search of the elusive first -- and he has come oh, so close in both his first two trips to the big game, with many who arguably say that Shanahan should be going after his third ring in 2024.
However, it hasn't turned out this way. Let's rewind the clock and find out why.
Super Bowl LI
Falcons fans, turn your head away. You know how much this one hurts.
Shanahan joined the Falcons as their offensive coordinator in 2015, but it was in 2016 that the team's offense became nearly unstoppable. Under Shanahan, the Falcons offense was the highest-scoring in the league that year, culminating in a division title, an MVP for QB Matt Ryan, and a trip to Super Bowl LI against Tom Brady and the New England Patriots.
It was Shanahan's fabulous play-calling that jumped the Falcons out to a 28-3 lead late in the 3rd quarter against the Pats -- all but looking like Atlanta's first Super Bowl in history was almost wrapped up.
However, down the stretch, Shanahan was widely criticized for being too aggressive late in the game, as the Falcons got it down inside New England's 25-yard line late in the fourth quarter. Needing just a field goal from Matt Bryant to likely seal the game, the Falcons could have run the ball and likely set them up with a makeable field goal.
Instead, Shanahan's pass play-calls that resulted in holding penalties and one major sack took the Falcons out of field goal range, leading to a game-tying drive by New England and an eventual 34-28 win in the Super Bowl's only overtime game ever.
Kyle Shanahan signed a six-year contract to become the next head coach of the San Francisco 49ers the next day.
Super Bowl LIV
Following the 2019 season that saw the San Francisco 49ers go 13-3 and win the NFC West, they were ready for their first Super Bowl appearance since the 2012 season.
They squared off against MVP QB Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs, who finished the regular season 12-4.
After a back-and-forth first half that saw both teams enter the locker room at a 10-10 deadlock, the 49ers came out in the third quarter and began to pull away. They got a field goal from Robbie Gould to go up 13-10 and then later got a rushing score from Raheem Mostert to take a 20-10 lead into the fourth quarter.
The 49ers held their 10-point Super Bowl for nearly the first nine minutes of the final quarter. But before San Francisco could blink, the Chiefs scored three unanswered touchdowns from the 6:12 mark to the 1:12 mark and took a commanding 31-20 lead -- a score that Super Bowl LIV finished up with.
After the 49ers scored their third-quarter touchdown to go up 20-10, their final four possessions ended like this: Punt, Punt, Downs, Interception -- an abysmal offensive performance in the fourth quarter that cost Shanahan his first ring.
But on Sunday, in a rematch against the Chiefs, Kyle Shanahan has the chance to capture his first Super Bowl ring and join some elite company with his father, legendary coach Mike Shanahan, who won two Super Bowls with the Denver Broncos in 1998 and 1999.
