Kyle Shanahan's Career Looks Similar To Andy Reid's, So Maybe Chill With The Overreactions | Dan Zaksheske

How quickly people forget. It's not their fault, necessarily. We're living in an era where history is quickly forgotten, or in worse cases, rewritten. We can take that lesson and apply it to Kyle Shanahan and Andy Reid. 

Following a third Super Bowl loss – the second as a head coach – many NFL fans are placing the blame squarely on San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan. 

Shanahan led the 49ers to the Super Bowl in 2019-20 only to lose to Patrick Mahomes, Andy Reid and the Kansas City Chiefs. 

He once again took his team to the Super Bowl this season, only for history to repeat itself. 

(Robin Alam/ISI Photos/Getty Images)

The biggest knock against Shanahan is that his teams led by double-digits in all three Super Bowl appearances – including when he was the offensive coordinator of the Atlanta Falcons, and they blew a 28-3 lead against the New England Patriots. 

Which also means that only two coaches and two quarterbacks have beaten Shanahan in the Super Bowl. You already know those names: Andy Reid, Bill Belichick, Patrick Mahomes and Tom Brady. There's no shame in losing to those men. 

The start Kyle Shanahan's career looks quite similar to the man who has twice beaten him in the Super Bowl – Andy Reid 

Following a third Super Bowl victory, Andy Reid is staking his claim as one of the greatest coaches in NFL history. 

But how many people remember what his reputation was before he got to Kansas City? If you don't, let me remind you: a great coach who can't win the big game. 

Reid coached the Philadelphia Eagles to four consecutive NFC Championship Games from 2001-04. The Eagles went 1-3 in those matches, losing to Tom Brady, Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots in their only Super Bowl appearance with Reid at the helm. 

(Jim Davis/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)

Reid remained in Philadelphia until 2011. The team reached a fifth NFC Championship Game, but they lost to the Arizona Cardinals to end their 2008-09 season. 

The Eagles played in 19 postseason games during Reid's 14-year tenure, posting a 10-9 record. They fired him after a 4-12 season in 2012 and the Kansas City Chiefs immediately gave him a new home. 

Success in Kansas City didn't come immediately. The Chiefs made the playoffs in five of their first six seasons with Reid, but never advanced past the AFC Divisional Round. That was, of course, until the team drafted quarterback Patrick Mahomes. Since then, the Chiefs have reached the AFC Championship Game in six consecutive seasons – winning four – and capturing three Super Bowl titles. 

Kyle Shanahan has never had a quarterback the caliber of Patrick Mahomes, obviously. Almost no coach has. But, writing him off after a second Super Bowl loss is shortsighted. 

Shanahan is an elite NFL head coach, despite not yet winning a Super Bowl – just like Reid was in Philadelphia 

Shanahan just finished his seventh season in San Francisco. After two tough years to start his career, he's led the team to four NFC Championship Games in five seasons. He's 44 years old. 

At age 44, Andy Reid had just reached the second of four straight NFC Championships with the Eagles. But, he started his head coaching career a few years later than Shanahan. 

So, let's look at Reid's resume after seven NFL seasons: five playoff appearances, four NFC Championship games, one Super Bowl appearance, no championships, 7-5 record in postseason games. 

Kyle Shanahan after seven seasons: four playoff appearances, four NFC Championship Games, two Super Bowl appearances, no championships, 8-4 record in postseason games. 

(Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)

Pretty similar, no? If anything, Shanahan has had a lot more postseason success than Reid did. He reached the playoffs one fewer time, but won one more game with one fewer loss. 

Many people wrote off Andy Reid after his Eagles tenure as the coach who could get his team most of the way up to the mountain, but couldn't quite lead them to the summit. And then, Patrick Mahomes happened. 

Finding NFL head coaches who can be consistently successful for long stretches, constantly putting their teams in championship contention is extremely rare. Most teams cycle through a new head coach every three or four years – or less.  

The San Francisco 49ers found a guy who always has his team in position to compete for championships, and some people actually want him fired. 

That's ridiculous. The guy hasn't reached his 45th birthday and is already a two-time NFC Champion. Several coaches who came up underneath him – Mike McDaniel, DeMeco Ryans and Robert Saleh – have already had some success as NFL head coaches. 

This is not a sprint – it's a marathon. And Kyle Shanahan is in great shape. 

Let's stop pretending that he isn't.