The aftermath of Super Bowl 58 has seen considerable debate over San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan's choice to receive the ball first in overtime, sending out his offense at the start of the extra period. This decision has been scrutinized extensively since the gut-wrenching defeat. Was it the right call?
Shanahan stands by his decision, asserting that he remains convinced it was the correct move based on analytics and how the game had played out.
"If it was like the Super Bowl the year before, the one that seemed more like a shootout, I think I might have felt a little bit differently," Shanahan admitted.
Shanahan explained his approach, noting that he always looks over the analytics data of specific situations and will always factor it into a decision. However, he tends to go with his gut. This time, the analytics aligned with his intuition.
"Our analytics felt that was the best way to go," Shanahan stated. "... I think the type of game it was did match what they felt was the best way to do it. It did seem more like a field-goal game, and our defense had been out there for a real long time right before that, so I didn't feel at all [like overriding] that at the time."
General manager John Lynch weighed in, adding context to the decision-making process, commenting, "I believe we just closed, I think it was an 11-play drive that we just closed the game with. And when you're playing [Chiefs QB Patrick] Mahomes, you're chasing him a lot, so there's a lot of effort that's expended. I think the context from there is you need some time to get fresh, and so all those things play into it. And those were sound decisions."
Shanahan also addressed another prevailing post-game topic—his players' unawareness of the overtime rules. He mentioned that position coaches were responsible for informing their players about recent rule changes before the start of overtime.
"But I didn't cover it in a meeting [during] the Super Bowl week," Shanahan admitted. "I don't think that changes anything. We [made the decision] with our analytics department. We decided that going into the playoffs."
While second-guessing decisions after a loss is natural, Shanahan maintains confidence in his process and decisions during the game.
"There is nothing that I thought, in the moment, that I did wrong," Shanahan remarked. "I was proud of that and like the thought process behind everything."