NFL Coach: Kyle Shanahan 'Screwed' as 49ers Didn't Have Strategist in Super Bowl OT

Quite a few sleepless nights may lie ahead for San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan given how his team lost Super Bowl LVIII to the Kansas City Chiefs.

In the moment, it was somewhat puzzling for the Niners to take the ball after they won the overtime coin toss. The strategy only looked worse Patrick Mahomes' three-yard touchdown pass to Mecole Hardman ended the game.

The criticism toward Shanahan has amplified in the immediate aftermath of the contest.

"Kyle not having a dedicated game strategist on staff screwed him," one coach said to The Athletic's Mike Sando.

It's always easy to second-guess once the outcome is known. With Shanahan, though, the broad critiques are more than fair.

For one, the coach seemed to use a flawed logic to justify starting on offense. He told reporters the 49ers "wanted the ball third" so they could control their own fate in a sudden-death situation. But they could've achieved basically the exact same thing by putting Mahomes on the field to open the extra period.

Shanahan and his staff don't appear to have properly prepared the players for the different overtime setup in the postseason, either.

Defensive tackle Arik Armstead admitted he didn't understand the finer nuances until he saw the rules posted on the Allegiant Stadium scoreboard.

Armstead wasn't the only one.

"You know what? I didn't even realize the playoff rules were different in overtime," fullback Kyle Juszczyk said. "I assume you just want the ball to score a touchdown and win."

He added the 49ers "hadn't talked about it."

Given the stakes, you'd expect a coach to ensure every minute detail is covered in practice and in the video room. No rule or tactic is too obscure. To omit a mention of something as basically as the different overtime procedure is a head-scratcher.

Shanahan has a .557 winning percentage in the regular season and two NFC titles. But the growing narrative that he's shooting himself in the foot when it really matters might be justified.