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How will Shanahan handle history of losing Super Bowl leads?
San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan. Morgan Tencza-USA TODAY Sports

How will Kyle Shanahan handle his history of losing leads in the Super Bowl?

NFL insider Jay Glazer of Fox Sports suggested that San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan won't be rattled by events from his past ahead of or during this Sunday's Super Bowl LVIII matchup versus the Kansas City Chiefs.

"I think he'll be the same guy," Glazer said during a chat with NBC Sports Bay Area's Laura Britt (h/t Ali Thanawalla) about what to expect from Shanahan against Kansas City. "He's not going to change up because of that pressure. Nothing is going to happen because of that, but Kyle's still going to call the same game. He's going to be the same. There's not too many coaches in the league who are teachers and coaches and motivators. Kyle is all three."

Shanahan was serving as offensive coordinator of the Atlanta Falcons when Atlanta famously blew a 28-3 lead against the New England Patriots in Super Bowl LI back in February 2017. He was later head coach of the 49ers in February 2020 when they held a 20-10 advantage over the Chiefs midway through the fourth quarter of Super Bowl LIV before Kansas City rallied to win that game, 31-20. 

To his credit, Shanahan has spoken openly since last month's NFC Championship about his Super Bowl history. Per Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk, Shanahan acknowledged on Tuesday that losing the biggest game of any NFL season is a "heartbreaking" experience. 

Glazer admittedly thinks there's "a ton" of pressure on Shanahan to hoist the Vince Lombardi Trophy at Allegiant Stadium this weekend because of the 44-year-old's Super Bowl record. 

"But whether he had been in one or not, they all put pressure on themselves," Glazer added about how Shanahan and other head coaches handle a Super Bowl environment. "But a ton of pressure on himself."

As of early Wednesday evening, DraftKings Sportsbook listed the 49ers as two-point favorites against the Chiefs. While San Francisco has been a constant betting favorite since conference championship Sunday, 49 of 64 "NFL analysts, writers, commentators, columnists and pundits" asked by ESPN to predict the outcome of Super Bowl LVIII picked the Chiefs to beat the Niners. 

Such information likely won't remove any weight from Shanahan's shoulders this week. 

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