49ers’ Kyle Shanahan, Fred Warner make their voices heard before Super Bowl 60

If you can’t beat ’em, go on the air and join the party.

Coach Kyle Shanahan and linebacker Fred Warner were part of NBC’s five-hour Super Bowl 60 pregame show Sunday, a consolation prize for the five-time Lombardi Trophy-winning 49ers failing to get out of the divisional playoff round with a 41-6 loss to the Seattle Seahawks.

Instead, it was Seattle (16-3) inhabiting the 49ers’ home locker room in advance of the Super Bowl against the New England Patriots (17-3) at Levi’s Stadium.

The 49ers last won a championship following the 1994 season, and they’ve lost three times since. Two of those came with Warner on the field and Shanahan on the sidelines — Super Bowl 54 and Super Bowl 58. Both were against the Kansas City Chiefs in Miami (31-19) and Las Vegas (25-22 in overtime) in which the 49ers had 10-point leads.

Shanahan was also the offensive coordinator for Atlanta in Super Bowl 51, when the Falcons blew a 28-3 lead and fell 34-28 in overtime. Shanahan also went to six Super Bowls with his father, Mike Shanahan, who was an assistant coach with Denver, a 49ers offensive coordinator and then head coach of the Broncos. He talked about it while sitting alongside Warner.

“You guys are making me bring up some dark Super Bowl memories,” Shanahan said. ‘I’ve been able to go to nine of these. I went to six of them with my dad and three on my own. I look at it as he got blown out in his first three and then he won his next three. And I’ve got my three losses out of the way.”

Warner was in on several quick hits, including two from the Seahawks’ locker room, where his 49ers locker was nearby.

“C’mon, this is torture for me,” Warner joked. He recalled his first Super Bowl against Kansas City and a big first-half play that had him thinking of hoisting the Lombardi Trophy.

“There is a moment I can vividly remember, a young Fred Warner making the biggest play in the biggest moment, an interception in the Super Bowl against Patrick Mahomes,” Warner said. “I was so jacked up, thinking, `If I get a few more tackles I might be the Super Bowl MVP.’ Boy, it was just so naive of me, because of course, we know where that went, and the lore of Patrick Mahomes began.”

Shanahan was also self-deprecating when it came to lending his expertise on a Seahawks defense that gave up only 32 points to the 49ers in three games and nine in the last two meetings.

“Expert opinion? I haven’t scored a touchdown in the last two times we played them, so I don’t know how good that is,” Shanahan said. “But it’s a grind versus these guys. You look at film, they stay (with two safeties deep) all day. It’s a huge challenge. You can’t stay in this defense very long and stop the run, but they do. And when you go deep, Julian Love is always there. He’s the smartest safety I’ve seen.”

Shanahan and Warner were both eager to see how Sam Darnold fared on the biggest stage. Both warned against Darnold trying to do too much, which could lead to three-and-outs and turnovers.

On their final hit, Shanahan picked Seattle to win 23-17 and Warner forecast a Patriots win at 28-24.

Some other pregame notes from the 49ers’ duo and pertaining to the Bay Area:

— Warner thought power back Rhomondre Stevenson (630 yards on 130 carries, seven touchdowns) could have a bigger impact than leading rusher TreVeyon Henderson (911 yards on 180 carries, nine touchdowns).

“I actually played him on this field a year ago and I could feel the force when I was trying to tackle this guy,” Warner said. “It was almost like he had a heavy head, the way he could fall forward for an extra one or two yards . . . , TreVeyon can hit the home-run ball, but I think what’s important today is to take the singles and doubles with Rhamondre.”

— While a film clip was playing of Seattle wide receiver Jaxson Smith-Njigba getting past 49ers corner Renardo Green deep, Warner said, “Everybody talks about how smooth JSN is, but it’s a deceptive speed that you feel when you’re playing against him. You think he’s running the out route, but nope, he’s running the go-ball. Of course they’re trying to show me up on my Niners right here.”

—  Warner said he was overly excited in his first Super Bowl and trying to calm teammates the second time around. Shanahan said it’s common among first-timers.

“I’ve seen guys after the first play come out and need oxygen tanks,” Shanahan said. “Everything’s about breathing, relaxing, and trying to keep that pulse down so when you get to the game, you’re ready to go.”

The game itself, Shanahan said, is almost a relief after the week-long Super Bowl extravaganza.

“To me, this is the first time after the NFC Championship Game, you feel normal,” Shanahan said. “You go through this whole dog and pony show, you’re doing all this traveling, all your schedules are off a little bit. Now you’re kind of in your element, you’re going over openers, all the situations, and you’re doing what you’ve done your whole life.”

— Shanahan’s key to the game is the same one he preached so often as coach of the 49ers. Run the ball as often as possible.

“You can’t get (explosive plays) unless you run the ball, unlock them, bring them up,” Shanahan said. “You lean on them, get those 40 runs in and that was how we were able to beat them in Week 1. Weren’t able to do that the last two times. You saw the result.”

— One pregame highlight was a feature on former Laney College coach and athletic director John Beam, who was shot and killed on Nov. 14 at the school’s offices at age 66. It was narrated by Marshawn Lynch, who didn’t play for Beam but knew him as a competitor at Oakland Tech (Beam coached at Skyline) and is a fixture in the Oakland community.

“Where others stopped looking for potential, Beam found it everywhere,” Lynch said. “Beam looked at a kid the world had already counted out and said, ‘Nah, come here, you’ve got more in you than that.’ But tell you, football was never the destination, it was the vehicle. He helped young men become better people, better leaders.”

Two-time Super Bowl champion Marvel Smith played for Beam at Skyline and was tearing up at the memory of winning his first ring for the Pittsburgh Steelers.

“The best part of it was that he was there, him and his family were there on the field with the confetti falling, like everything had come full circle, because this is a man I owed everything to,” Smith said. “Coach did so much for me but he never asked for anything.”