49ers Players Praise Kyle Shanahan After Super Bowl Loss: 'He's the Best Coach'

The San Francisco 49ers entered the fourth quarter of Super Bowl LIV with a 10-point lead, only to watch it slip through their fingertips as the Kansas City Chiefs rallied to win 31–20.

For 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan, it was his second brutal loss in the big game. In 2017, Shanahan worked with the Atlanta Falcons as their offensive coordinator when they blew a 28–3 lead to fall to the New England Patriots in overtime in Super Bowl LI.   

After experiencing another harsh Super Bowl ending, Shanahan took the podium to address the media on Sunday night. He admitted he was mad, but said he'd move on.

"Everyone is disappointed, and they should be. I wouldn't expect anything different. Guys put their heart into the season and came up one game short," Shanahan said, per NFL.com. "Extremely proud of us and everything, but this is going to take a little time to get over–but we'll be alright."

Shanahan delivered an emotional postgame speech to the 49ers. His players praised him for his rousing speech but also for how he's guided the team all season.

"Kyle held his head high," said defensive end Dee Ford. "He told us, 'Of course it's not the result we wanted, but I'll line up with any player in here, anytime.' He told us, 'This team is special.' And it is."

Tight end George Kittle said it was hard to watch Shanahan be so emotional during his speech.

"S---, it was brutal. I don't know how to describe it. It just sucked," Kittle said. "Kyle was great, though. That's one thing I do like about Kyle is, he keeps it real, all the time. I love playing for him."

Fullback Kyle Juszczyk anticipated Shanahan will be criticized for the Super Bowl loss and was quick to stand up for his coach.

"It was tough for everybody, obviously. You don't picture it ending this way. The good thing is, I know Kyle does such a good job of blocking out the noise," he said. "I have so much love and respect for Kyle. He's the best coach that I've ever played for. He's the same guy every single day, no matter what happens. 

"He always looks to himself first when it comes to blame. And he takes our ideas and suggestions and will really listen, and think about implementing things after the fact. It sucks just because of how much everybody respects and loves him, and because we hate to hear any negativity about him, and we know it's coming."

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