Kyle Shanahan stands by OT decision in 49ers' Super Bowl loss, defends track record in big games

[London Breed Economy]

Two days removed from losing Super Bowl LVIII to the Kansas City
Chiefs, San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan sat at a
podium with general manager John Lynch on Tuesday and addressed
reporters.

The 44-year-old was quick to rebuff a specific question about
the game, saying he hasn't had a chance to watch film from the
loss. Instead, he spent time watching Netflix's "Griselda" with
his family to distract himself from the victory that was almost
in his grasp.

That didn't stop him from addressing two of the major sticking
points following the defeat: his decision-making process after
winning the overtime coin flip and the perception that he and
the 49ers can't win big games.

At this point, the consensus seems to be that Shanahan should've
kicked off to the Chiefs after winning the coin toss in light of
the NFL’s new playoff rules. Instead, after the 49ers scored a
field goal to open overtime, Kansas City scored a touchdown to
win 25-22.

On Tuesday, Shanahan stood by the choice to receive the ball
first

"Our analytics felt that was the best way to go," Shanahan said.
"We decided that going into the playoffs."

He added that his gut agreed because the defense was tired, and
Sunday's game was filled with field goals. He noted that the
49ers' Super Bowl loss to the Chiefs in 2020 felt like an
offensive "shootout," and he would've made a different choice
had that game gone past regulation.

Lynch supported Shanahan on Tuesday, saying he made a "sound
decision" since the defense had just closed the fourth quarter
on an 11-play drive, and Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes is
exhausting to guard.

Amid the backlash from several 49ers players admitting that they
didn't know the new overtime rules, Shanahan claimed that he
attempted to keep everyone informed.

"We told everyone as we were waiting for the coin toss, 'Hey,
review, everyone make sure they're sure before we go out.' We
asked position coaches to do that," Shanahan told reporters on
Tuesday. "But no, I didn't cover it in a meeting on the Super
Bowl week. I don't think that changes anything."

Fullback Kyle Juszczyk was one of the players who said he was
unaware of the rules, saying he "assumed you just want the ball
because you score a touchdown and win."

In an interview with Michael Silver of the San Francisco
Chronicle, Juszczyk walked back those comments a bit.

"That changes nothing for me as a player, whatsoever. If I know
the rule or don't know the rule, I'm trying to do the exact same
thing on the field," Juszczyk said. "It's just people looking
for a way to s*** on [Kyle Shanahan]."

Shanahan closed the end-of-season conference with an energetic
rejection of the idea that he and the 49ers don't win when it
matters.

“We had to win a lot of big games to get to the Super Bowl," he
said. "To say that the Niners can’t win a big game would be an
extremely inaccurate statement.”

Currently 0-3 in Super Bowls, including his loss to the New
England Patriots while working as offensive coordinator for the
Atlanta Falcons, Shanahan is aware of the critique that he's the
problem.

“You’d love to fix perception," he said. "I would love to win
one for what I know about football, and I know if I fix
perception, that means I did everything I wanted to do — which
isn’t fix perception. It’s win a damn Super Bowl.”

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