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Kyle Shanahan is returning to the Super Bowl, this time as the head coach of the San Francisco 49ers. His last time in the big game didn't end so well. Still, he is regarded as one of the best young offensive minds in football, and the 49ers' turnaround this season has proven that.
A lot of words have been thrown around while describing Shanahan. Words like "brilliant" and "guru" are commonplace. Does Shanahan consider himself an "offensive guru," as many around the league and in the media do?
"No, I don't consider myself an offensive guru," Shanahan told reporters on Tuesday from the team's hotel in downtown Miami. "I consider myself a coach who tries as hard as he can, and I definitely don't do it all well."
Shanahan went on to pass a lot of the credit for the 49ers' success this season to his coaching staff.
"Our coaches from Mike McDaniel, Mike LaFleur, they put in a majority of the game plan with myself," Shanahan continued. "We get a lot of help from all the coaches. And when you have good players around you, and you have good coaches, it helps a lot."
One glaring flaw on Shanahan's resume is that Super Bowl loss in 2017 to the New England Patriots. He can look back and identify mistakes but feels he has grown as a play caller and coach since then. Still, the idea of letting up on an opponent continues to haunt Shanahan.
"No matter what situation I've been in since then, you can ask our players, you can ask our coaches," Shanahan said, "I freaked out at (defensive coordinator Robert) Saleh when he tried to take the starters out [against Minnesota] when we were up like three scores with two minutes to go. I freaked out.
"Then I did the math, and I thought it was alright. You get some of those scars from that, so guys mess with me with that."
The 49ers will face the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LIV on Sunday.
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