49ers’ Kyle Shanahan give eye-opening take on defense amid painful Super Bowl loss to Chiefs
After losing to the Chiefs in the Super Bowl again, 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan gives his assessment about the defense.
Zachary Weinberger is a credentialed Miami Heat reporter and an Associate Editor covering the NBA at-large, NCAA Football, and NCAA Basketball for ClutchPoints. He graduated from Florida Atlantic University in 2022, covering sports at the FAU University Press and later at The Palm Beach Post.
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As the San Francisco 49ers lost to the Kansas City Chiefs, there is now a time of reflection for the losing team until the very next season where they will try and make noise again. When looking at the success of San Francisco, they were a well-oiled machine that had an exceptional defense and an explosive offense, all led by head coach Kyle Shanahan.
The 49ers head coach and players spoke Tuesday to the media after collecting their thoughts about the loss in the biggest game of the season. Shanahan would say that their defense are one of the main “reasons that we got this far” in which the team captured the No. 1 seed in the NFC and won the NFC West for the second straight season according to Matt Barrows of The Atheltic.
“I thought they’re one of the reasons that we got this far,” Shanahan said. “I thought they did a number of good things. They did a lot of good things in (Sunday’s) game, too, just like our whole team. Our team did a bunch of good things this year but came up short in the last game.”
49ers coach Steve Wilks back with the program not yet determined
Even with the compliments of the defense, there was not a fast response from Shanahan when asked if he would bring back defensive coordinator Steve Wilks back with the organization. He would say “That’s stuff that we’ll talk about a ton as this week goes (on).”
Shanahan would then be asked a follow-up question about it and then said, “Uh, I haven’t talked to anybody yet. So, yeah, I expect all our coaches to be back.” There is no doubt that Wilks was a huge part in leading that defense to new heights as he meshed the elite talent on that unit well.
General manager John Lynch also spoke to the media after the Super Bowl and complimented the 49ers' defense as he should know a thing or two since he is a Hall of Fame safety. Lynch said that he is “really proud of our defense” per The Athletic.
“That’s the thing that people don’t see at home: the sacrifice people have made,” Lynch said. “I’m really proud of our defense for the way they competed in this last game. I think that looked like how I envisioned it looking. We were getting after them.”
Brock Purdy was a huge part in 49ers success
Besides the defense, one could point to quarterback Brock Purdy as being instrumental to the success of the offense as he was exceptional leading to be a finalist for league MVP. An offensive guru in Shanahan thought Purdy was “unbelievable” and that his season “was one of the most impressive” he has seen having been around a bevy of players and signal-callers.
“I thought Brock was unbelievable,” Shanahan said. “I mean, one of the most impressive seasons I’ve been around for a football player and a quarterback. He was just a stud through it all.”
Purdy threw for 4,280 yards, 31 touchdowns, and 11 interceptions on the season in his first full season as a starter. The plan now for the quarterback is to get better, learn the offense even more, and work on areas where he lacks in.
“Shoulder mobility, my hips,” Purdy said via The Athletic. “Just being able to move better. I feel like my rookie year, I was pretty tight. And then I had surgery, so my focus was on my arm. So I feel like I could be a little more elusive and stuff in how I move. And that’s something I want to get better at.”
“I just keep thinking about those three-and-outs that we had,” Purdy continued. “And when we had an opportunity to go take control of the game.”
It would seem likely that the 49ers should very well be in contention to make a lot of noise next season in the NFL. However, they will try to get the bad taste out of their mouth as they lost to the Chiefs in their last two Super Bowl appearances.