SANTA CLARA — Regrets? Kyle Shanahan has a few, but the new 49ers head coach said Thursday he can live with it.
Shanahan’s play-calling in the fourth quarter of a 34-28 overtime loss Sunday by the Atlanta Falcons in the Super Bowl has been under a microscope, and the criticism has been unrelenting.
“I’ll remember every play, and I’ll go over those the rest of my life,” Shanahan said at his introductory press conference.
Two plays stood out. With Atlanta leading 28-12 and facing a third-and-1 at its own 36-yard line, Shanahan called for a pass play which resulted in a sack of Matt Ryan and a lost fumble. The Patriots took over at the 25 and cut the score to 28-20 with a touchdown and two-point conversion.
On the Falcons’ next possession, after reaching the New England 23-yard line with over four minutes left, Shanahan called for another pass on second-and-11. Ryan was sacked for a 12-yard loss by Trey Flowers.
Instead of playing it safe, running the ball and kicking what could have been a game-clinching field goal by Matt Bryant, the Falcons were pushed out of field goal range.
The Patriots, of course, went on to tie the game and win it in overtime.
Atlanta was a bold, attacking offensive team all season en route to leading the NFL in scoring. Shanahan simply refused to pull back the reins just because he was in the Super Bowl.
“It’s human nature when you get in big moments like that to lock up, to hesitate, to try and take the easy way out,” Shanahan said. “That’s something I wasn’t going to do or our team wasn’t going to do. We played that game the way we played the entire year.
“I called plays in that game the way I called them the entire year. That doesn’t mean I’m always right. That doesn’t mean it’s always going to work.
“Yeah, it’s going to be hard living with that loss. Every play that didn’t work, I regret. As always. But I can deal with it. I can look myself in the mirror and say I did what I thought was right at the time and that was the most important thing. I didn’t change because of the circumstance. And whatever happens, if you do what you thought was right and you believed in that because of the preparation was right, then you should be able to live with the consequences.”
Shanahan said he met with players the following today rather than leave immediately for Santa Clara.
“I needed breather after it,” Shanahan said. “I was going to come out right away, but I had to get closure with that stuff. It was hard, but I got through it, and that helped a lot.”
