Kyle Shanahan, the San Francisco coach, will coaching in his third Super Bowl Sunday, his second as a head coach.
And Brock Purdy will be starting his first Super Bowl after being the last player drafted in 2022.
Both have a lot at stake in this game against the Chiefs when they go in as slim favorites.
Shanahan was the play caller for Atlanta when the Patriots came back from a 28-3 deficit in the third period to win in overtime. And Shanahan’s play calling was a major factor in the Falcons blowing the lead. They were in field goal position with about four minutes left and all Shanahan had to do was call three running plays and take a field goal boost their lead to 11 points. Instead after a first down run gained only a yard, he started passing. A holding call and sack pushed the Falcons out of field goal range. The Patriots then tied it and won in overtime.
In 2019, Shanahan was a head coach the Super Bowl for the first time and the 49ers had a 20-10 lead going into the fourth period and the Chiefs scored three touchdowns to win.
Purdy, meanwhile, took the 49ers to the NFC title game against Philadelphia as a rookie but suffered an injury and the 49ers lost.
Even though Purdy has the 49ers in the Super Bowl in his second year, he is still trying to live down the reputation of being a game manager surrounded by great talent. Getting a ring would quiet his critics. He had to rally the 49ers to their playoff wins over the Packers and Lions and probably would have lost to the Lions if coach Dan Campbell of the Lions hadn’t passed up two field goal attempts and then failed on fourth down both times.
So the pressure will be on both Shanahan and Purdy to prove they can win it all. It will be a long offseason for the coach and the quarterback if they don’t win.
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