Winning a Super Bowl is hard. Last year, the San Francisco 49ers were as complete a team as I’ve witnessed fail to get over the hump. A team can draft well, develop well, hit on free agents and have a plan. All of that goes awry when a group of 11 players on the field feels the squeeze of the league’s greatest player and starts making uncharacteristic mistakes. There is no plan when a team comes up against a generational talent such as Patrick Mahomes, just like there was no plan when good teams were flung into the ring with the New England Patriots’ dynasty.
I had a great deal of sympathy after this past Super Bowl for Kyle Shanahan, who was asked about his narrow losses as a coordinator with the Atlanta Falcons in Super Bowl LI, to the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LIV and to the Chiefs again a few months ago. His response was basically: Dude, I lost to Tom Brady and Mahomes [and also I wasn’t the head coach of the Falcons]. It reflects the beauty and sadness of this pursuit of perfection that so many in the NFL are on.
