- The 40-year-old head coach is 60 minutes away from becoming the youngest to win a Super Bowl ring since a 36-year-old Mike Tomlin won with the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2009.
- From shadowing his father legendary head coach Mike Shanahan to working for six different NFL franchises, Shanahan has spent his whole life preparing for this moment.
- Read more of Business Insider's Super Bowl 2020 coverage here.
- Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories .
Meet Kyle Shanahan, the mastermind behind the San Francisco 49ers' 2020 Super Bowl run.
kyle shanahan.JPG
ADVERTISEMENT
Meet Kyle Shanahan, the mastermind behind this seasons San Francisco 49ers.
BusinessInsider USA Images
Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images
ADVERTISEMENT
The 40-year-old third-year head coach is one of the younger head coaches in the NFL.
BusinessInsider USA Images
Robert Reiners/Getty Images
But he has spent his entire life preparing to take the helm in the pros.
BusinessInsider USA Images
ADVERTISEMENT
John Bazemore/AP
He was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, where his father, Mike, was beginning to make a name for himself as the head coach of the Minnesota Golden Gophers.
BusinessInsider USA Images
AP Photo/Alex Brandon
Throughout Kyles childhood, Mike climbed the coaching ladder.
ADVERTISEMENT
BusinessInsider USA Images
REUTERS/Pierre DuCharme JLS
And by the time Kyle reached high school, his dad had spent time as both the Oakland Raiders head coach and the San Francisco 49ers offensive coordinator.
BusinessInsider USA Images
AP Photo/Paul Sakuma
ADVERTISEMENT
Mike eventually took over the helm for the Denver Broncos and, two years later, led them to back-to-back Super Bowl victories.
BusinessInsider USA Images
David Martin/AP
Kyle, meanwhile, accepted a scholarship to play wide receiver for the Duke Blue Devils before transferring to the University of Texas during his redshirt freshman season. He finished his career with 127 yards on 14 receptions.
BusinessInsider USA Images
ADVERTISEMENT
Tim Warner/Getty Images
After graduation, Shanahan spent some time at UCLA as a graduate assistant before landing a gig under Jon Gruden as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers assistant coach for offensive quality control.
BusinessInsider USA Images
Getty Images
In 2006, Gary Kubiak, who had been Mikes offensive coordinator in Denver, hired Kyle as the wide receivers coach for his Houston Texans, making him the youngest position coach in the NFL at the time.
ADVERTISEMENT
BusinessInsider USA Images
AP Photo/David J. Phillip
Source: ESPN
He quickly worked his way up the chain of command. First, he was promoted to quarterbacks coach. Then, one year later, he became the teams offensive coordinator.
BusinessInsider USA Images
ADVERTISEMENT
AP Photo/David J. Phillip
He left Houston to join his father in Washington as offensive coordinator, but only lasted three season before the entire staff got fired.
BusinessInsider USA Images
REUTERS/Tim Shaffer
But a few months later, the Cleveland Browns picked up the offensive mastermind to take over as offensive coordinator.
ADVERTISEMENT
BusinessInsider USA Images
George Gojkovich/Getty Images
But things were not going well for him in Ohio, so he created a list of 32 reasons why the team should let him out of his contract.
BusinessInsider USA Images
AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack
ADVERTISEMENT
It worked, and Shanahan took his talents to Atlanta, joining the Falcons just 10 days after resigning from the Browns.
BusinessInsider USA Images
AP Photo/John Bazemore
The offense he designed for Matt Ryan and company was the most prolific in the league and helped them earn a spot in Super Bowl LI.
ADVERTISEMENT
BusinessInsider USA Images
AP Photo/John Bazemore
He earned NFL assistant coach of the year honors for his efforts and was hired as the San Francisco 49ers head coach just one day after Super Bowl LI.
BusinessInsider USA Images
Brad Rempel-USA TODAY Sports
ADVERTISEMENT
But his tenure at the helm got off to a rocky start. The 49ers lost their first nine games during the 2017 season.
BusinessInsider USA Images
Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports
San Francisco managed to bounce back later in the year, winning six of its final seven games and bringing former New England Patriots backup quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo into the fold.
BusinessInsider USA Images
ADVERTISEMENT
Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
The team endured a backslide the following season, winning just four games and losing Garoppolo early in the year with an ACL tear.
BusinessInsider USA Images
Jay Biggerstaff-USA TODAY Sports
But his first-string QB returned in time for the 2019 season, and the 49ers soared from there.
ADVERTISEMENT
BusinessInsider USA Images
Stan Szeto-USA TODAY Sports
San Francisco went 13-3 during the regular season and beat the Minnesota Vikings and the Green Bay Packers in the playoffs to win the NFC Championship.
BusinessInsider USA Images
Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
ADVERTISEMENT
Now, at just 40 years old, hes 60 minutes away from becoming the youngest head coach to win a Super Bowl ring since a 36-year-old Mike Tomlin won win the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2009.
BusinessInsider USA Images
Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Now read up on Eastern Illinois, the little-known FCS program where Jimmy Garoppolo, Tony Romo, Sean Payton, and Mike Shanahan developed into big-name NFL stars:
BusinessInsider USA Images
ADVERTISEMENT
Eastern Illinois University
Little-known Eastern Illinois University produced some of the most impressive minds and arms in the NFL including Jimmy Garoppolo thanks to a unique combination of luck and skill
See Also: