Kyle Shanahan's Super Bowl History

At long last, Super Bowl LVIII is just a few Earth rotations away.

With the San Francisco 49ers and Kansas City Chiefs embarking on Southern Nevada, the big game is very near.

For Sunday's title clash at Allegiant Stadium, San Francisco is a 2.5-point favorite over Kansas City in a game with a 47.5-point total, per the Super Bowl odds at FanDuel Sportsbook.

Come Sunday, we'll see two of the brightest offensive minds in the NFL going head-to-head. Head coaches Kyle Shanahan and Andy Reid are brilliant innovators on that side of the football.

For this article, we'll dive into Shanahan's experience at the Super Bowl. Since Shanahan has been to the big game only once previously as a head coach, let us also consider his Super Bowl track record as an offensive coordinator. Of course, as the son of a former NFL coach, Kyle was privy to the Super Bowl environment at a young age.

Kyle Shanahan's Super Bowl History

In full-circle fashion, Shanahan's initial victorious big-game trip came when he was in high school. At the age of 15, his father Mike Shanahan was the OC of San Francisco's 1994-95 championship team. Ironically, current 49ers tailback Christian McCaffrey's dad -- Ed McCaffrey -- was also on that Super Bowl XXIX squad, logging one catch for S.F. in their trouncing of the then-San Diego Chargers.

After that 1994 season (which was the 49ers most recent world title), Mike Shanahan was hired as head coach of the Denver Broncos. Just two years later, Broncos Country won back-to-back Lombardi Trophies.

That makes the older Coach Shanahan one of just six NFL head coaches to win consecutive Super Bowls (along with Bill Belichick, Jimmy Johnson, Chuck Noll, Don Shula and Vince Lombardi), and Kyle surely gained invaluable experience by just being around the program. Of course, the younger Shanny will look to prevent Andy Reid from joining that hyper-exclusive list this upcoming Sunday.

Kyle Shanahan's professional coaching career began after playing college ball for the Texas Longhorns. From there, he took various offensive jobs around the NFL before landing as the Houston Texans' offensive coordinator in 2008 under Coach Gary Kubiak. Still, Shanahan would not sniff the big game again until joining the Atlanta Falcons as Dan Quinn's OC.

Naturally, I think we all remember that historic Super Bowl LI collapse by Atlanta -- for it is the reason why the numbers of "28-3" are sacred to supporters of the New England Patriots. Immediately following that epic loss, Shanahan took his current post (and first head-coaching position) with San Francisco. Three seasons later, the 49ers were in Super Bowl LIV versus these same Chiefs.

Super Bowl LIV (2019-20)

Kansas City 31, San Francisco 20 (L)

Being that Super Bowl LVIII in "Fabulous" Las Vegas is a rematch four years in the making, let us reflect back to that fateful night in Miami.

Hosted at Hard Rock Stadium, K.C. rallied for a second-half comeback to swipe the title from the 49ers; at one point early in the fourth quarter, ESPN Analytics gave S.F. a 96.1% chance at victory. But Chiefs All-World quarterback Patrick Mahomes and speedster Tyreek Hill had other ideas.

Through three quarters, Shanahan's offense found the end zone twice, which included a pass from signal-caller Jimmy Garoppolo to All-Pro fullback Kyle Juszczyk. Also in that time, kicker Robbie Gould converted two quality offensive drives into successful field goals.

But in the fourth quarter, when Kansas City produced 21 points, the 49ers were blanked. Travis Kelce got in on the late scoring, securing a wide-open touchdown courtesy of a blown goal-line coverage by the Niners.

Shanahan and San Francisco took the defeat, 31-20, giving Coach Reid his initial Super Bowl title as a head coach. This game was also Kansas City's first Super Bowl win since the Richard Nixon Administration (1969).

With Vegas as the backdrop this Sunday, Shanahan has a few new offensive game-changers since S.F. and K.C. last played for all the marbles -- can Super Bowl first-timers like Christian McCaffrey, Brock Purdy, Trent Williams and Brandon Aiyuk make the winning difference for the 49ers? Arguably, along with physical players in Deebo Samuel and George Kittle, it is Shanahan's best offensive unit to date.

Super Bowl LI (2016-17)

New England 34, Atlanta 28 (OT)/(L)

As a gridiron football game that will never be forgotten, Super Bowl LI is most likely Tom Brady's crowning jewel in his very heavy and decorated NFL crown.

The time was February 2017, and the place was Houston's NRG Stadium. New England was in pursuit of their second Lombardi Trophy in a three-year span. Across the field, Atlanta was looking for the franchise's inaugural championship.

After both sides were shutout in the opening quarter, Shanahan's offense flashed for two touchdown drives in less than 3:30 of second-quarter game clock. From there, Falcons cornerback Robert Alford intercepted a Brady pass and proceeded to take it 82 yards to the house. The Patriots responded with a field goal before a prime Matt Ryan orchestrated a third offensive touchdown drive for Atlanta -- hence, the score 28-3.

With 8:31 remaining in the third stanza, the rest was history. Brady and the Pats lit up Falcons coach Dan Quinn's defense for five unanswered scores (including four touchdowns). The effort required overtime, as Shanahan's offense was blanked in the fourth quarter. Atlanta never possessed the football in overtime; New England won the coin toss and crossed the goal line eight vintage Brady plays later.

The final score was 34-28 as the Patriots even found a way to cover the three points they were laying.

Looking at Super Bowl LI and LIV, offenses schemed by Kyle Shanahan have yet to score a single point in the big game's final quarter. If the 49er Faithful's long drawn "Quest for Six" Lombardi Trophies is to finally be relieved, that Shanny nugget must expire this weekend in the desert.

Super Bowl LVIII Betting Odds

San Francisco 49ers vs. Kansas City Chiefs

• Time: 6:30 p.m. ET
• TV: CBS
• Venue: Allegiant Stadium, Las Vegas, NV
• National Anthem: Reba McEntire
• Halftime: Usher Raymond
• Head Referee: Bill Vinovich
• Game Spread: SF -2.5 (-105)
• Moneyline: SF -130/KC +110
• Total: 47.5

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The above author is a FanDuel employee and is not eligible to compete in public daily fantasy contests or place sports betting wagers on FanDuel. The advice provided by the author does not necessarily represent the views of FanDuel. Taking the author's advice will not guarantee a successful outcome. You should use your own judgment when participating in daily fantasy contests or placing sports wagers.