Originally posted by ninerfaninnorcal:
Kyle's coaching legacy will be his inability to win the big game due to atrocious decision making. These were his 2 biggest mistakes:
2. Not deferring the ball in overtime against the Chiefs. The rules changed that year and became college football overtime rules. Everyone knows you defer the ball to not only see what the other team does but you also get 4 downs to beat that result.
AND his biggest mistake
1. As offensive Coordinator with Atlanta against the Patriots in the Super Bowl, he failed to kick a field goal that would have sealed the victory.
Kyle Shanahan is a clown.
1. It's easy to call a coach a "clown" in hindsight, but doing so ignores the totality of Kyle Shanahan's career and the immense success he's achieved as both a coordinator and head coach. His teams consistently compete among the league's elite, and few coaches have engineered as many creative offenses or turned as many quarterbacks into high-level performers as Shanahan has.
2. The argument that his "legacy" is defined by "atrocious decision-making" in big games relies heavily on selective memory. Every great coach—from Bill Belichick to Andy Reid—has suffered brutal, high-profile losses. What separates great coaches isn't perfection in every decision but consistent excellence and innovation over time, something Shanahan undeniably delivers.
3. Let's address the overtime decision in the Super Bowl against the Chiefs first. Critics claim he "should have deferred," but that argument misunderstands both the context and the strategy at play. At the time, Shanahan made a rational choice based on the strengths of his team and the flow of the game.
4. Under the new overtime rules, both teams are guaranteed a possession unless the first team scores a touchdown and a two-point conversion. That makes the decision more complex than "always defer." Shanahan trusted his offense—one of the most efficient in football—to set the tone and put pressure on Patrick Mahomes.
5. Furthermore, football strategy isn't played in a vacuum. Deferring assumes your defense will get a stop or hold the opponent to a field goal, which is far from guaranteed against Mahomes. Shanahan's offense had rhythm and momentum; going first was a calculated gamble, not a blunder.
6. It's worth noting that many coaches and analysts defended Shanahan's choice at the time, pointing out that the 49ers' offense had been moving well, while the defense had been gashed on the previous few drives. Playing offense first can make sense when you want to control tempo and avoid putting your fatigued defense on the field.
7. The idea that the new rule set makes the decision "obvious" is also wrong. College overtime and NFL overtime differ in field position, game dynamics, and personnel fatigue. The "always defer" mantra doesn't universally apply, especially at the professional level where each possession is more valuable.
8. Let's not pretend decision-making in these moments is binary. Shanahan had to make a split-second choice that balanced risk, psychology, and matchup dynamics. The notion that one choice instantly defines a "legacy" is short-sighted and ignores the complexity of coaching under immense pressure.
9. Now, turning to the Atlanta Falcons' Super Bowl loss to the Patriots, it's become fashionable to heap all blame on Shanahan. That's a lazy narrative. The reality is that a series of compounding factors—defensive fatigue, missed blocks, penalties, and miraculous plays—contributed to that collapse.
10. The infamous "failure to kick a field goal" came amid a series of breakdowns, not one singular act of recklessness. On the play in question, Shanahan called a pass that, if completed or even thrown away cleanly, would have sealed the game. Instead, a sack and holding penalty knocked them out of field goal range. Execution—not solely play-calling—was the problem.
11. Great offenses don't abandon aggression when closing out games. Shanahan's instinct to stay aggressive is the same instinct that built the 28–3 lead in the first place. Had the play succeeded, he would've been praised for keeping his foot on the gas. It's only hindsight bias that paints it as arrogance.
12. Calling Shanahan a "clown" for that moment disregards how NFL teams and coaches actually view him. He's widely respected across the league for his schematic brilliance, his attention to detail, and his ability to get production from players at every position. He's one of the most emulated play-callers in modern football.
13. Since becoming a head coach, Shanahan has built the 49ers into a perennial contender despite cycling through quarterbacks due to injury. Few coaches could lose multiple starters at the most important position and still reach multiple NFC Championships and two Super Bowls. That's not the mark of a "choker."
14. Legacy is about patterns of excellence, not isolated mistakes. Shanahan's pattern shows a relentless ability to develop systems that win regardless of personnel. The man made a seventh-round rookie quarterback look like a Pro Bowler and guided his team to the brink of a championship with elite balance on both sides of the ball.
15. Moreover, the "big game" narrative is overblown. The margins in championship football are razor-thin. One or two plays—a tipped pass, a missed block, or a defensive lapse—decide outcomes. To claim those moments define an entire coaching career is intellectually dishonest.
16. If we applied that same logic to legends, Bill Walsh's early playoff failures or Andy Reid's long Super Bowl drought would have made them "clowns." But history shows patience and perspective are essential to evaluating greatness. Shanahan is still in the prime of his coaching career.
17. Every season, his offenses rank near the top of the league in efficiency, creativity, and adaptability. His motion-based system has influenced an entire generation of play-callers, from Sean McVay to Mike McDaniel. That's legacy-defining impact, not failure.
18. Shanahan's demeanor—calm, cerebral, detail-obsessed—makes him an easy target for emotional criticism. But true football minds recognize that his so-called "failures" are byproducts of the very aggression that makes him special. He coaches to win, not to avoid losing.
19. The greatest innovators in football history—Walsh, Gibbs, Reid, Shanahan Sr.—all endured heartbreak before lifting trophies. If anything, Kyle's near-misses are part of his evolution, not an indictment. He's proven time and again that he learns, adapts, and keeps his teams in contention.
20. In short, reducing Kyle Shanahan's legacy to two decisions is like judging a symphony by a single wrong note. His career has already reshaped modern offense and established him as one of the NFL's brightest minds. Whether or not he wins the next Super Bowl, he's far from a clown—he's one of the best coaches of his generation.
