49ers’ Kyle Shanahan may find strength in Super Bowl ‘heartbreak’

Fifteen years after Kyle and Mandy Shanahan were bonded by her worst personal tragedy, they recently shared his lowest professional moment in a Houston hotel room. Mandy was with Kyle and his parents, Mike and Peggy, after the Falcons squandered a 25-point lead in an overtime loss to the Patriots in Super Bowl LI. The meltdown immediately inspired national criticism of Kyle's decisions as offensive coordinator and, nearly two weeks after the game, Mandy spoke haltingly as she relived the fallout. Kyle flew back to Atlanta with the team the next day and a similar scene played out when he greeted his children: To the public, Shanahan, 37, the NFL's second-youngest head coach, is known for precociousness and confidence, not vulnerability and sensitivity. At 28, Shanahan became the youngest offensive coordinator in NFL history in 2008. Last year, the Falcons scored the eighth-most points (540) in NFL history, and he was named the league's Assistant Coach of the Year. Before he became the 49ers' general manager, John Lynch, in his final game as a Fox Sports analyst in January, said Shanahan could come across as "arrogrant," although he went on to say it was a quality he wanted in a...