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The offseason represents a time of overhaul for many NFL organizations. After falling painfully short of winning the Super Bowl again, Kyle Shanahan may hope a new look brings better luck to the San Francisco 49ers.
A photo went viral of Shanahan attending the wedding of Christian McCaffrey and Olivia Culpo. Standing next to George Kittle and Kyle Juszczyk, Shanahan is wearing slicked-back hair, sunglasses, and a thick mustache.
It’s a drastic change in appearance magnified by Shanahan trading a cap for a tuxedo with his beard wholly shaved. Fans joked about the 44-year-old’s altered look.
“You could’ve given me a thousand guesses and I never would’ve guessed that was Kyle Shanahan,” SiriusXM’s Denton Day said.
“He looks 30 years older with the Stache + Glasses combo,” a fan wrote.
“Kyle looks alarmingly like Jeff Fisher,” Audacy’s Brian Renick opined.
“Kyle looks like he’s about to make someone an offer they can’t refuse,” Hugh Tomasello said, likening Shanahan to Vito Corleone from The Godfather.
“He looks like a Super Bowl loser,” another fan quipped.
Shanahan oversaw a dominant regular season in which the 49ers finished third in points scored and allowed. They’ve finished each of the last three years with at least 10 seasons and a top-10 offense and defense.
Yet San Francisco lost a Super Bowl to the Kansas City Chiefs for the second time in the head coach’s tenure. That was his third championship shortcoming, as he was the offensive coordinator for the Atlanta Falcons team that squandered a 28-3 lead to the New England Patriots.
With most of their star players returning, the 49ers should enter 2024 as a top contender to defend their NFC crown. However, Shanahan’s mustache could be long gone by the time they open the season against the New York Jets on Monday, Sept. 9.
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