Two days after losing Super Bowl LVIII to the Kansas City Chiefs, San Francisco 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan sat on the podium with general manager John Lynch on Tuesday and addressed reporters.
The 44-year-old was quick to dismiss a specific question about the game, saying he didn't have a chance to watch film after the loss. Instead, he spent some time watching the Netflix movie “Griselda” with his family to distract himself from the victory that was almost within his grasp.
That didn't stop him from addressing two of the major sticking points after the loss: the decision-making process after winning the extra coin flip and the perception that he and the 49ers couldn't win big games.
[For more on 49ers’ Super Bowl heartbreak, check out Yahoo Sports NFL]
At this point, the consensus seems to be that Shanahan should have pitched to the Chiefs after winning the coin in light of the NFL's new playoff rules. Instead, after the 49ers kicked a field goal to open overtime, Kansas City scored to win 25-22.
On Tuesday, Shanahan stuck to choosing to receive the ball first
“Our analytics felt like this was the best way to go,” Shanahan He said. “We decided to go to the playoffs.”
He added that his instincts agreed because the defense was tired, and Sunday's game was full of field goals. He noted that the 49ers' Super Bowl loss to the Chiefs in 2020 felt like an offensive “shootout,” and he would have made a different choice had that game passed regulations.
Lynch backed Shanahan on Tuesday, saying he made a “sound decision” given that the defense had just finished the fourth quarter in 11 games and Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes is exhausted to guard.
Amid backlash from several 49ers players who admitted they didn't know the new overtime rules, Shanahan claimed he tried to keep everyone informed.
“We told everyone while we were waiting for the coin toss, 'Hey, review, everyone makes sure they're sure before we go out.'” We asked the position coaches to do that, Shanahan told reporters Tuesday. “But no, I didn't cover it in a meeting in Super Bowl week. “I don't think this changes anything.”
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Linebacker Kyle Goscheck was one of the players who said he was unaware of the rules, saying he “assumes you only want the ball because you score a touchdown and win.”
In an interview with Michael Silver From the San Francisco Chronicle, Juszczyk walked back those comments a bit.
“It doesn't change anything for me as a player at all. Whether I know the rule or I don't know it, I try to do exactly the same thing on the field,” Juszczyk said. “They're just people looking for a way to have sex [Kyle Shanahan]”.
Shanahan finished the end-of-season conference with a forceful rejection of the idea that he and the 49ers don't win when it matters.
“We had to win a lot of big games to get to the Super Bowl,” he said. “To say the Niners can't win a big game would be a very inaccurate statement.”
Currently 0-3 in Super Bowls, including a loss to the New England Patriots while serving as offensive coordinator for the Atlanta Falcons, Shanahan is aware of the criticism that he is the problem.
He said: “You like to fix the perception. I would love to win one for what I know about football, and I know that if I fix the perception, it means I've done everything I wanted to do – and that's not a fix.” Imagine. It's winning the damn Super Bowl.
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