Stephen A. Smith Buries 49ers Coach for Not Knowing OT Rules in Super Bowl: ‘A Smear on the Entire Organization’

Stephen A. Smith slammed the coach Kyle Shanahan and the entire San Francisco 49ers organization for not knowing the overtime rules during Super Bowl LVIII.

With the game tied at 19, the Niners won the coin toss and chose to receive the ball to start overtime against the Kansas City Chiefs. San Francisco managed to make a field goal on the drive, leaving the door open for Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs to win the game on the very next possession. Minutes later, Mahomes threw a game-winning touchdown pass to Mecole Hardman.

Multiple 49ers later admitted to being confused about the playoff overtime rules. Fullback Kyle Juszczyk, for example, thought his team would have won by scoring a touchdown on the first drive. In 2022, the NFL adjusted the rule to give the other team a possession in the event of an opening-drive TD.

On Monday’s episode of First Take, Smith went off on the 49ers.

“No. 1, this particular situation is a smear on the entire organization,” Smith said, “and let me tell you why. No. 1, you’re the coach, Kyle Shanahan. It’s your job to make sure you articulate what the situation is, that your players know all the rules they need to know. That’s no. 1.”

Though Smith was disappointed with Shanahan not making sure the players knew the rules, he didn’t let the players on the field off the hook.

“No. 2, hold the players accountable,” Smith continued. “Last time I checked, you can read. You’re playing the game. This is your profession. How in God’s name are you gonna be post-game of the Super Bowl and talk about you weren’t even aware of the circumstances of an overtime game when it’s a Super Bowl championship on the line? It just goes to show that folks were asleep at the wheel — at least to some degree. They definitely didn’t play that way, especially defensively because I give them a lot of credit where credit is due; but nevertheless, you cannot have a situation where you’re admitting post-Super Bowl that you didn’t even know the rules that pertained to overtime.

“Overtime is sudden-death. Overtime is, ‘Everything is on the line right now.’ And it’s the Super Bowl championship that’s on the line, and you’re literally saying you weren’t aware of it? That is just embarrassing and that is a negligence of duty.”

Watch above via ESPN