Kyle Shanahan’s mistakes in the Super Bowl shouldn’t scare the 49ers

Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

The San Francisco 49ers knew for weeks that former Atlanta Falcons offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan would be their head coach, roughly around the time that New England Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels withdrew his name from consideration. Once the Super Bowl was the in rear-view mirror, the 49ers made his hiring official.

It truly didn’t matter what happened in the Divisional round, the NFC Championship, or even the Super Bowl. Shanahan, who was the mastermind behind the Falcons’ top-scoring offense, was ready for a promotion. The 49ers, after firing Chip Kelly at the end of the season, were ready to name their third new head coach in as many years. Nothing Shanahan could do in the postseason would help or hurt him when it came to the 49ers.

But it sure was nice for the 49ers to see him call a fantastic game against the Seattle Seahawks and the Green Bay Packers in Atlanta’s first two playoff games. Of course, it helps having NFL MVP Matt Ryan at quarterback and superhuman Julio Jones at receiver — not to mention a two-pronged rushing attack featuring Devonta Freemanand Tevin Coleman — but Shanahan simply called very efficient games.

That was the case in the Super Bowl as well — until late in the game.

What happened to running the ball?

With 9:40 left to play in the Super Bowl, the Falcons held a 28-12 lead and were all but guaranteed their franchise’s first Lombardi Trophy. Coleman had five carries for 20 yards while Freeman ran the ball nine times for 74 yards and a touchdown.

So, the Falcons were up by two scores and Freeman was Freeman rushing for 8.2 yards per carry. That’s a pretty strong indicator of what the game plan should have been the rest of the way, especially after Coleman left with an ankle injury. From there it should have been the Freeman show.

Instead, the Falcons gave him just two more carries for the remainder of the game. In the final minutes of the Super Bowl, protecting a huge lead, and working with one of the best running attacks in the league, Shanahan’s Falcons ran the ball just four times.

When it rains, it pours

With 9:40 to go in the fourth quarter, the Falcons held a one-score lead over the Patriots. Up eight points, they chose not to run the ball. Instead, Ryan left the pocket and found Jones for an acrobatic reception over Patriots defender Eric Rowe, toe-tapping the sideline to stay in bounds.

It put Atlanta at the 22-yard line and in position to take a two-possession lead with a field goal. It was an incredible catch, thrown where Julio — and only Julio — could get it if he used every bit of his large frame.

Freeman gets stuffed for a 1-yard loss on first down. Instead of doing the sensible thing and giving it back to Freeman, who had a lot more success than failures in the game, Shanahan called a pass play.

And then Ryan made the terrible mistake of holding on to the ball for too long. Instead of throwing it away, Ryan took a 12-yard loss.

Now on the edge of Matt Bryant’s field goal range, the Falcons attempted another pass rather than run the ball to pick up a few yards to help with the field goal try. To make matters worse, the Falcons were called for a hold and pushed well out of field goal range. An incomplete pass on third down led to a punt, and that punt led to a 10-play, 91-yard Patriots drive to tie the game.

Shanahan never got a chance to redeem himself in overtime, as the Patriots scored on the opening possession. There is no way to know if three straight runs and a field goal would have been enough, but it sure seems likely, doesn’t it?

What it means for the 49ers

The Falcons’ late-game woes mean the 49ers are getting a young coach who isn’t perfect. That’s not a surprise. But at the end of the day, 49ers fans should be happy that they snagged one of the top up-and-coming head coaches in the league as opposed to another retread or a yes-man hire like the one that was made with Jim Tomsula.

Shanahan will inherit a 49ers team with a questionable quarterback position featuring Colin Kaepernick, Blaine Gabbert, and Christian Ponder. But he also inherits Carlos Hyde, a strong running back who could be one of the best in the league if he stays healthy. The 49ers have a high draft pick and a whole lot of cap space to help things as well, so finding somebody to actually throw the ball to Torrey Smith is a real possibility.

And that’s the hope — that Shanahan will make the 49ers a better team. Chip Kelly’s offense was predictable and ineffective. Tomsula’s was laughably one-note. Jim Harbaugh’s was overcomplicated and started to trip over itself in his final two seasons.

He’ll have his work cut out for him. And he’ll need to make sure he doesn’t make the same mistakes he made in the Super Bowl, calling plays that seemed more panicked and reactionary.

But the 49ers are still heading into an offseason with what looks like the right man in charge. And if Shanahan learned a valuable lesson in the Super Bowl, it’s better he learned it there than in a big game as head coach of the 49ers.