SANTA CLARA, CA – Kyle Shanahan has only been head coach of the 49ers for a week, but the former Falcons offensive coordinator already likes what he sees of his new team.
“I’m not going to lie,” Shanahan told reporters today. “Even though I’m with the 49ers now, that loss with the Falcons in the Super Bowl is going to gnaw at me. But I’ve been watching a lot of film on the team and meeting some of the guys and I really don’t think I’m going to experience anything like that loss anytime soon here. It’s very encouraging.”
Shanahan then compared his Falcons team with the one he will be coaching in San Francisco this year.
“The Falcons had the best receiver in football, one of the better quarterbacks and a young, up-and-coming defense and what did that get us? Heartbreak,” he said. “Here in San Francisco, we don’t have the best receiver. In fact, I couldn’t even name one of our receivers until I took the job. Did you know Torrey Smith was still in the NFL? Neither did I. Then at quarterback we … well, we don’t have Matt Ryan. And then our defense gave up the most points in football. Put it all together, and I just don’t see a Super Bowl loss in our future. Call me crazy, but that’s just me. I’m an optimist.”
While his Falcons team was an explosive offense that often jumped out to big leads on opponents, the 37-year old team has told his 49ers that he wants them to be the kind of team that can come from behind.
“I’m fairly certain we may not have a lead in any game for at least two years, so it’s really our only option,” he said.
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