Who is Kyle Shanahan? Get to know the 49ers' head coach

49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan is set to square off with Andy Reid and the Chiefs in Super Bowl 54. It's the first time in NFL history the son of a Super Bowl-winning coach (Mike Shanahan) will coach in the championship game. 

After a rocky first two seasons in San Francisco that resulted in a 10-22 record, Shanahan righted the ship in his third year. Thanks in part to the return of a healthy Jimmy Garoppolo, the 49ers went 13-3 in the regular season and breezed through their first two playoff games against the Vikings (27-10) and Packers (37-20). Known as an offensive guru, Shanahan led the 49ers to a No. 4 finish in total offense (381.1 yards/game) and No. 2 finish in scoring offense (29.9 points/game) in the regular season. 

Shanahan, 40, has a chance to become the third-youngest Super Bowl-winning coach after Mike Tomlin (36) and Jon Gruden (39). 

MORE: Kyle Shanahan, the 'family business' and outperforming the perception of nepotism

Who is Kyle Shanahan? Facts about the 49ers coach 

• Shanahan's father, Mike, is a long-time college and NFL coach who led the Broncos to Super Bowl titles in 1997 and '98. Kyle served as offensive coordinator of the Redskins when Mike coached there from 2010 to 2013.
• Shanahan served as offensive coordinator of the Falcons when they led the NFL in scoring offense and went to the Super Bowl in 2016-'17.
• He took over as the 49ers head coach on Feb. 6, 2017. 
• He has gone 25-25 in his three seasons as 49ers head coach (counting the playoffs). However, in games in which Jimmy Garoppolo has started, Shanahan's record is 23-5. 

Kyle Shanahan age: How old is the 49ers' coach?

Shanahan, 40, is the second-youngest coach in the NFL and one of four NFL head coaches under 41. Arizona's Kliff Kingsbury (40), Green Bay's Matt LaFleur (40), and the Rams' Sean McVay (34) are the others. 

When Chiefs coach Andy Reid (61), coached his first NFL game for the Eagles in 1999, Shanahan was 19. 

MORE: Ranking the best 25 coaches without a championship

Kyle Shanahan's wife, kids and family life

Shanahan has been married to his wife Mandy since 2005. 

His father, Mike, was a long-time college and NFL coach. As head coach, he led the Broncos to Super Bowl titles in 1997 and '98, and he also served as offensive coordinator on the 49ers' Super Bowl-winning team in '94. Over his 38-year coaching career, he served as head coach of the Raiders (1988-'89), Broncos (1995-2008), and Redskins (2010-'13). 

Where is Kyle Shanahan from?

Shanahan was born in Minneapolis, but he frequently moved as a kid, as his dad's coaching career took him all around the country. He started his high school career in the Bay Area when his father was offensive coordinator of the 49ers, but he finished it in the Denver area after his father was named head coach of the Broncos. 

Shanahan went to Duke on a football scholarship, but as a redshirt freshman he transferred to the University of Texas at Austin, where he played wide receiver. During his Longhorn career (2001-'02), he caught 14 passes for 127 yards. Texas went 11-2 both seasons, winning the Holiday Bowl and Cotton Bowl, respectively. After graduating, Shanahan spent a year as a graduate assistant at UCLA. 

Where else has Kyle Shanahan coached?

Shanahan hadn't been a head coach at any level until getting the 49ers job in 2017. Prior to that, he had been the offensive coordinator for four different NFL teams: Texans (2008-'09), Redskins ('10-'13), Browns ('14), and Falcons ('15-'16). Shanahan got his start in the NFL in '04, working as an offensive quality control coach under Jon Gruden in Tampa Bay. He then served as wide receivers coach ('06) and quarterbacks coach ('07) for the Texans. When he was named OC of the Texans, he became the youngest OC in the NFL at the time (29).

Shanahan eventually left the Texans to serve as offensive coordinator for the Redskins, where his father Mike was head coach. After the entire Redskins coaching staff was let go after the 2013 season, Shanahan joined the Browns as OC, but that relationship lasted just one year after Shanahan resigned because of pressure from the front office to start Johnny Manziel. He then joined the Falcons as OC, helping lead them to the Super Bowl in 2016. Atlanta had the No. 2 total offense (415.8 yards/game) and No. 1 scoring offense (33.8 points/game) in the NFL that season.   

Kyle Shanahan's salary with the 49ers

Shanahan signed a six-year, $21-million contract with the 49ers in 2017, giving him an average annual salary of $3.5 million. There are reportedly incentives in his deal that could increase his total earnings. 

49ers head coach history

Shanahan is the 20th head coach in 49ers history. He replaced Chip Kelly, who went 2-14 in his lone season in San Francisco.

San Francisco has won five Super Bowls, with Bill Walsh at the helm for the first three (1981, '84, '88) and George Seifert winning the other two ('89, '94). Jim Harbaugh (2012) is the only other 49ers coach to lead the team to the Super Bowl. Joining those three, Shanahan became the fourth 49ers head coach to win the Sporting News' NFL Coach of the Year award in 2019.