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Aidin Ebrahimi looks at the Super Bowl performances of two of the best coaches in the business, Super Bowl LVIII rivals Andy Reid and Kyle Shanahan.
We're rapidly approaching Super Bowl LVIII, and one of the most interesting things about this Super Bowl is the battle of two of the best head coaches in the business, Andy Reid and Kyle Shanahan. Reid was already a college offensive lineman when Shanahan was born, but despite their age gap, the two share an interesting history.
Reid coached against Mike Shanahan—Kyle's legendary father—in eight games, going 4-4 against him. Reid's head coaching record against the Shanahan family is currently 7-4, meaning that he has beaten Kyle Shanahan in all three of their meetings, including Super Bowl LIV. Speaking of the big game, Reid has appeared in three other Super Bowls (and two more as an assistant), while Kyle Shanahan has also appeared in Super Bowl LI which was his last game before becoming a head coach.
With that being said, let's look at what these two coaches have done in these Super Bowl appearances, and whether their Super Bowl history can tell us a thing or two about this upcoming matchup.
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Bonus: Super Bowl XXXI And XXXII (Andy Reid)
We won't focus a lot on these two Super Bowls, as Reid was just an offensive line coach for the first and a QB coach for the second, so his decisions likely didn't matter much, but we will go over them quickly just to be factually accurate. In his first-ever Super Bowl appearance, Reid was a part of Mike Holmgren's coaching staff as the Packers beat the Patriots in Super Bowl 31, the only Super Bowl win of Brett Favre's career. They would return to the big game the following season, and while the Packers' offense was good that night, their defense just couldn't stop Terrell Davis as the Packers fell to the Broncos in Super Bowl 32.
Brett Favre thank Andy Reid as he calls him the buffer to Coach Homlgren#ChiefsKingdom #HOF pic.twitter.com/Ua8gfLwfhW
— realfans ➿ (@REAL_FANS) August 7, 2016
Super Bowl XXXIX (Andy Reid)
Four consecutive NFC championship game appearances. That will always be Andy Reid's legacy in Philadelphia, and while it's a very impressive accomplishment, Eagles fans will always wonder how they got no Super Bowls out of this run. The closest they got to lifting the Lombardi trophy in this era was Super Bowl 39, where Reid's Eagles took on Bill Belichick's Patriots.
This game was tied by the end of the first, second, and third quarters, so it was a very winnable game for Philly. But Reid made some questionable decisions which proved to be costly. Reid's conservative reputation mostly stems from this game and some Eagles fans still blame Reid entirely for this loss.
Andy Reid and Donovan McNabb would have managed the clock, driven down the field, and Akers would’ve kicked the game winning FG in Super Bowl 39. https://t.co/y1nxRZRKbT
— EMVPiid (@teamhungy) July 26, 2019
Right before halftime with 1:10 left and the score tied 7-7, Donovan McNabb was marching down the field but Andy Reid only called one timeout with 10 seconds left. Philadelphia could have gone into halftime with a 10-7 lead with better clock management, but they instead went into halftime with two unused timeouts.
They also had no urgency near the end of the game, as they didn't go to a no-huddle offense while they were down 10 points with 5:40 left in the fourth. The Eagles scored eventually but it was too little, too late. The onside kick failed and the Eagles lost 24-21 to the defending champions. This was a heartbreaking defeat, but Reid would learn from his mistake.
Super Bowl LI (Kyle Shanahan)
Kyle Shanahan could win a ring each year for the rest of his career, but he can never escape what happened in Super Bowl 51. This wasn't like Reid's first Super Bowl appearance, as Shanahan was the offensive coordinator, meaning that he played a major role in the outcome of this legendary game.
The 2016 Falcons are still a top-10 offense of all time (according to total points scored), and much of that was because of Shanahan. They made it all the way to Super Bowl 51, facing Bill Belichick's Patriots just like Reid did in Super Bowl 39. The Falcons shocked the world by going up 28-3, but we all know what happened next.
𝗧𝗥𝗘𝗡𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗚: Former #Falcons RB Devonta Freeman liked a tweet saying Kyle Shanahan lost Super Bowl 51 on purpose to the #Patriots so he could get Jimmy Garoppolo on the #49ers when he officially became head coach.
That’s the only way to explain how they possibly blew a 28-3… pic.twitter.com/iKpXx23YKr
— JPAFootball (@jasrifootball) October 4, 2023
Yes, the defense should take most of the blame for their collapse, but Shanahan isn't blameless. He saw how Tom Brady was leading the Patriots down the field and how the Patriots abandoned the running game, so he kept calling passing plays when he shouldn't have. After an incredible catch by Julio Jones, up by eight with less than five minutes left in the game, Shanahan called a play exclusively for Julio to ice the game, but it backfired as Matt Ryan got sacked and the drive stalled out.
If they could have gotten a field goal on that drive, the game would have probably ended right then and there. Instead, the Pats scored again and won the game in overtime, completing the most spectacular comeback in NFL history.
Super Bowl LIV (Andy Reid/Kyle Shanahan)
The most interesting Super Bowl on this list, as we can learn a thing or two about Super Bowl 58 by analyzing the first Super Bowl meeting between Reid and Shanahan. This game is remembered as a coaching masterclass by Reid and a disasterclass by Shanahan, but let's look at what happened.
After the 49ers forced a punt on the opening drive, they drove to the Chiefs' 25-yard line, but then Shanahan decided to pass with Jimmy Garoppolo four times, gaining zero net yards and only getting saved by a five-yard penalty. The game would be tied 10-10 as both teams headed to the half, but then everything would change in the second half.
Kyle Shanahan in Super Bowl 4th Quarters and Overtimes:
Super Bowl 51:
NE: 25 ATL: 0Super Bowl 54
KC: 21 SF: 0That's 46-0 in the 4th quarter and overtime of 2 Super Bowl games.
— Paul Little 🎮 (@ItsPaulLittle) February 3, 2020
Fred Warner picked off Patrick Mahomes and the Niners led by 10 points entering the fourth, and they picked him off again at the start of the fourth quarter. They had the chance to ice the game with a time-consuming drive, but the drive stalled out. The Niners' defense stood strong and forced a 3rd and 15 at the Chiefs' 35.
Mahomes had actually thrown it to Tyreek Hill for a first down in the previous play, but it was successfully challenged by Shanahan to bring the Chiefs to third down. At that moment, ESPN estimated that the Chiefs had a 3.9% chance of winning the game, but Andy Reid wasn't deterred. Mahomes threw a bomb to Hill once again to shift the momentum of this game.
The Chiefs would go on to score and they'd successfully score again on their next possession without attempting a single run play. Kyle Shanahan had seen this before in Super Bowl 51, he shouldn't have changed his gameplan because the other team wasn't running the ball. But he didn't learn his lesson.
He relied heavily on Jimmy Garoppolo to do something, calling six consecutive pass plays, but his failed deep pass to Emmanuel Sanders sealed the game. Damien Williams ran for a score to put the game out of reach, while Garoppolo threw an interception to put the nail in the coffin.
Super Bowl LV (Andy Reid)
This one won't be long because there really isn't much to talk about. The Chiefs were 14-2 after their Super Bowl 54 victory and they were on their way to repeating as Super Bowl champs, as they faced the Buccaneers in Super Bowl 55. But the conditions weren't perfect. The Bucs were playing at home, the Chiefs had a bruised and battered offensive line that completely collapsed, and Reid's son was involved in a DWI crash that almost took the life of a five-year-old girl. Todd Bowles' relentless defensive scheme worked to perfection and the Bucs' defense prevented the Chiefs from scoring a touchdown. Reid took full responsibility after the loss, saying: "They played better than we did. I take full responsibility."
Andy Reid reflects on Super Bowl 55. pic.twitter.com/3Ph9W0Bi7u
— USA TODAY Sports (@usatodaysports) February 8, 2021
Super Bowl LVII (Andy Reid)
Super Bowl 57 was Reid's chance to redeem himself, and he was facing the perfect opponent too. Reid was facing his former team, the Philadelphia Eagles, and now was his chance to prove to all the Philly natives and fans that the team made a mistake by firing him all those years back.
The Chiefs decided to retool the O-Line after Patrick Mahomes had no protection in Super Bowl 55, as four of their five OL starters in Super Bowl 57 were acquired in the previous two years. This proved to be an extremely wise decision, as the Eagles, who had the third most total sacks by a team in NFL history, failed to sack Mahomes the entire game.
The Eagles fired Andy Reid 10 years ago.
Since then, Andy Reid has gone 4-0 against the Eagles, including beating the Eagles in Super Bowl 57. pic.twitter.com/4THyog4zdc
— Farzin Vousoughian (@Farzin21) May 31, 2023
Their run-blocking was great too, as the Chiefs averaged 6.1 yards per carry. Reid also called many short passes which confused Eagles players, and Patrick Mahomes carved their defense up with ease. If you Mahomes in both Super Bowl 55 and Super Bowl 57, you'd see two completely different situations.
Against Tampa Bay, Mahomes was scrambling for his life trying to make something out of nothing. But against Philly, he looked calm, poised, and in complete control even though he aggravated his ankle injury in the game. Philadelphia fought hard on offense, but KC just proved to be too much, as they won their second championship of the Reid/Mahomes era.
How Will Super Bowl LVIII Affect Reid And Shanahan's Legacies?
Only Bill Belichick, Chuck Noll, Bill Walsh, and Joe Gibbs have ever won more than two Super Bowls as a head coach, so a third ring would put Andy Reid in elite company and cement his legacy as one of the greatest coaches ever. Also, a 3-2 record in the big game sounds a whole lot better than a 2-3 record. For Shanahan, this game can either make or break his legacy. If he wins, his reputation as a big game "choker" will be gone (though not completely as the stain of 28-3 is too dirty to be cleaned).
Andy Reid going against Kyle Shanahan Sunday. it’s gonna be the4th coaching rematch in Super Bowl history: Chuck Knoll vs Tom Landry, Jimmie Johnson vs Marv Levy, Tom Coughlin vs Bill Belichick. In each of the previous 3 the coach that won the 1st matchup also won the rematch pic.twitter.com/h3azVTNxmi
— trey wingo (@wingoz) February 6, 2024
He needs to get rid of his number one weakness to win, and that's being influenced by the opposing QB's success on pass plays like what happened with Brady in SB51 and Mahomes in SB54. But if he loses, his legacy will be tarnished, and the 49ers—who are known for making some brutal decisions—might feel the need to have some uncomfortable discussions regarding Shanahan's future if they feel like he's not "the guy" to win them a ring.
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