Feb 1, 2020 - Sports

What the Super Bowl coaches are saying ahead of the game

Photo: David Eulitt/Getty Images

Andy Reid, 61, hasn't been to the Super Bowl in 15 years and is the NFL's best coach to never win one, making him the sentimental favorite among neutral fans.

What he's saying: Did I mention he's quirky and hilarious? Yesterday, he compared having nine grandchildren to eating Chinese food: "They keep you young and at the same time make you feel old. It's kind of like sweet and sour pork."

Kyle Shanahan, 40, was a 49ers fan as a middle schooler due to his dad being the team's offensive coordinator when they won Super Bowl XXIX in 1995.

What he's saying: "I was 100% the Niners and the playoffs at that time. I can remember it like it was yesterday. ... If you had told me this when I was in middle school, I would have said that's a dream come true. The way it worked out and the way everything lined up, it is pretty special to sit and think about."

More coaches:

Katie Sowers, a 49ers offensive assistant, is the first woman and openly gay person to coach in a Super Bowl.
Eric Bieniemy, the Chiefs offensive coordinator, is taking the high road after not getting a head coaching job.
Robert Saleh, the 49ers defensive coordinator, is blazing a new trail for Arab-Americans.
Steve Spagnuolo, the Chiefs defensive coordinator, is hoping to finish his Super Bowl journey alongside old friend Andy Reid.

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Why it matters: The Super Bowl is one of the last remnants of an era when we all watched the same things at the same time. It is the "live sport" of all live sports, which is currently the only form of content tethering many consumers to traditional TV.

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How the 49ers will try to stop the juggernaut Chiefs offense

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Andy Reid has built an offensive juggernaut in Kansas City thanks to an otherworldly QB and the NFL's fastest group of receivers. He also happens to be the sport's most valuable play-caller.

By the numbers: The Chiefs scored on nearly half of their possessions this season, trailing only the Ravens. They also faced the third-fewest third downs of any team — and led the NFL in third-down conversion rate anyway.

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How the 49ers offense deploys its zone-running scheme

Table: Andrew Witherspoon/Axios

Kyle Shanahan uses the same zone-running scheme that his father, Mike, used to lead the Broncos to back-to-back Super Bowls in the late 1990s.

Zone blocking, explained: Offensive linemen block a space instead of a person. This requires mobility (hence why San Francisco has the NFL's lightest O-line) and running backs who can get through holes quickly, rather than dance in the backfield à la Le'Veon Bell.

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