Shanahan shrugs off prospect of losing 3rd Super Bowl

Kyle Shanahan will try to win his first championship on his third attempt: He was famously on the wrong end of the biggest comeback in Super Bowl history while with the Atlanta Falcons before falling short again with the San Francisco 49ers.

But Shanahan isn't putting any thought into what another loss in the big game will do to his reputation ahead of Sunday's rematch with the Kansas City Chiefs.

"I deal with it the same way if we win," Shanahan said Thursday, according to ESPN's Nick Wagoner. "I celebrate with our team. I celebrate with my family and I move on with the rest of my life, which is being a father or son and coaching and working and doing all that.

"Narrative, good or bad, is just a narrative ... I just don't want regrets. I just want to do everything that makes sense to myself, that makes sense for our team. And when you do that, that's what I have found."

As the Falcons' offensive coordinator, Shanahan watched as the Patriots erased a 28-3 lead to win Super Bowl LI at the end of the 2016 season. Three years later, the Chiefs handed Shanahan his second Super Bowl defeat - this time as a head coach - when they also came back from down 10 points entering the fourth quarter.

Questions about Shanahan's ability to secure the 49ers' first championship since the 1994 season intensified following back-to-back NFC title game defeats in 2021 and 2022.

But Shanahan won't let the outside noise impact how he views himself.

"No matter how hard something is or good something is, you always keep perspective of what it really is," he said. "If you want your perspective to be someone else's narrative, good luck being happy in life. Or successful."

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