49ers’ Christian McCaffrey and Coach Kyle Shanahan Hoping to Win Super Bowl Just Like Their Dads 29 Years Ago

Christian McCaffrey and Kyle Shanahan.Photo:UPI/Alamy Live NewsChristian McCaffrey and Kyle Shanahan are following in the footsteps of their dads, who won Super Bowls in the 1990s together on two teamsChristian’s dad Ed won the title under Mike Shanahan, when the latter was the 49ers offensive coordinator, and they won two titles in Denver where Mike was head coachKyle and Mike would become the first father and son head coaches to win the Super Bowl, should the 49ers win this yearChristian McCaffreyand Kyle Shanahan are hoping to accomplish what their fathers did 29 years ago — become Super Bowl champs!The San Francisco 49ers running back and head coach have a special bond that dates back to the 90s, when McCaffrey’s dad, Ed, played for Kyle’s dad, Mike, on the San Francisco 49ers and the Denver Broncos.Christian was a toddler and Kyle a teenager when the 49ers — with Mike as offensive coordinator and Ed as a wide receiver — won the championship over the San Diego Chargers in Super Bowl XXIX in 1995.Three years later, their fathers reconnected on the Denver Broncos, where Mike as head coach led the team, including Ed, to two titles in 1998 and 1999.Ed McCaffrey greets his sons Max McCaffrey (left) and Christian McCaffrey on the field.Cyrus McCrimmon/The Denver Post via GettyFlash forward a quarter of a century, and now the younger McCaffrey and Shanahan are on the cusp of history.If McCaffrey, aka CMC, and the Niners win on Feb. 11 against the Kansas City Chiefs, he’ll become the third NFL rushing champion to win a Super Bowl in the same year, following another Broncos legend, Terrell Davis, as well as Dallas Cowboys Hall of Famer Emmitt Smith (1992, 1993, 1995), according to CBS Sports.Kyle (L) and Mike Shanahan.Tracy A Woodward/The Washington Post via GettyA Super Bowl win would also mean that Kyle and Mike would become the first father and son head coaches to win a title.Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.Having a famous football star dad could seemingly be a burden for a young kid learning the game, but for Christian, it was a bonus.Christian McCaffrey with his parents, Ed and Lisa, and his brothers Max and Dylan.Christian McCaffrey/ Instagram“Growing up I was Ed’s kid, we were always Ed’s sons and so in a way, that was an advantage for us because we got to experience a little bit of that already,”he saidin a conversation with his former Stanford University coach last fall. “We would hear the voices whenever we showed up to an AAU game and different things like that. And I used to have a small amount of resentment, I think myself and three of my brothers, we all kind of wanted to branch off and create our own name.“Kyle Shanahan and Christian McCaffrey.Michael Zagaris/San Francisco 49ers/GettyHe added, “But that was a very, very small time in our lives where we had that, and I think it quickly became here’s a guy who did it the right way and played 13 years in the NFL and won three Super Bowls, been to a Pro Bowl, he’s been cut, he’s been traded, he’s been at the highest of the game. That’s like a cheat code right in your own home, use that to your advantage. I tried to do that as much as possible.“The Kansas City Chiefs and the San Francisco 49ers will face off in Super Bowl LVIII, airing on CBS on Feb. 11 at 6:30 p.m. ET.

Christian McCaffrey and Kyle Shanahan.Photo:UPI/Alamy Live News

UPI/Alamy Live News

Christian McCaffrey and Kyle Shanahan are following in the footsteps of their dads, who won Super Bowls in the 1990s together on two teamsChristian’s dad Ed won the title under Mike Shanahan, when the latter was the 49ers offensive coordinator, and they won two titles in Denver where Mike was head coachKyle and Mike would become the first father and son head coaches to win the Super Bowl, should the 49ers win this yearChristian McCaffreyand Kyle Shanahan are hoping to accomplish what their fathers did 29 years ago — become Super Bowl champs!The San Francisco 49ers running back and head coach have a special bond that dates back to the 90s, when McCaffrey’s dad, Ed, played for Kyle’s dad, Mike, on the San Francisco 49ers and the Denver Broncos.Christian was a toddler and Kyle a teenager when the 49ers — with Mike as offensive coordinator and Ed as a wide receiver — won the championship over the San Diego Chargers in Super Bowl XXIX in 1995.Three years later, their fathers reconnected on the Denver Broncos, where Mike as head coach led the team, including Ed, to two titles in 1998 and 1999.Ed McCaffrey greets his sons Max McCaffrey (left) and Christian McCaffrey on the field.Cyrus McCrimmon/The Denver Post via GettyFlash forward a quarter of a century, and now the younger McCaffrey and Shanahan are on the cusp of history.If McCaffrey, aka CMC, and the Niners win on Feb. 11 against the Kansas City Chiefs, he’ll become the third NFL rushing champion to win a Super Bowl in the same year, following another Broncos legend, Terrell Davis, as well as Dallas Cowboys Hall of Famer Emmitt Smith (1992, 1993, 1995), according to CBS Sports.Kyle (L) and Mike Shanahan.Tracy A Woodward/The Washington Post via GettyA Super Bowl win would also mean that Kyle and Mike would become the first father and son head coaches to win a title.Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.Having a famous football star dad could seemingly be a burden for a young kid learning the game, but for Christian, it was a bonus.Christian McCaffrey with his parents, Ed and Lisa, and his brothers Max and Dylan.Christian McCaffrey/ Instagram“Growing up I was Ed’s kid, we were always Ed’s sons and so in a way, that was an advantage for us because we got to experience a little bit of that already,”he saidin a conversation with his former Stanford University coach last fall. “We would hear the voices whenever we showed up to an AAU game and different things like that. And I used to have a small amount of resentment, I think myself and three of my brothers, we all kind of wanted to branch off and create our own name.“Kyle Shanahan and Christian McCaffrey.Michael Zagaris/San Francisco 49ers/GettyHe added, “But that was a very, very small time in our lives where we had that, and I think it quickly became here’s a guy who did it the right way and played 13 years in the NFL and won three Super Bowls, been to a Pro Bowl, he’s been cut, he’s been traded, he’s been at the highest of the game. That’s like a cheat code right in your own home, use that to your advantage. I tried to do that as much as possible.“The Kansas City Chiefs and the San Francisco 49ers will face off in Super Bowl LVIII, airing on CBS on Feb. 11 at 6:30 p.m. ET.

Christian McCaffreyand Kyle Shanahan are hoping to accomplish what their fathers did 29 years ago — become Super Bowl champs!

The San Francisco 49ers running back and head coach have a special bond that dates back to the 90s, when McCaffrey’s dad, Ed, played for Kyle’s dad, Mike, on the San Francisco 49ers and the Denver Broncos.

Christian was a toddler and Kyle a teenager when the 49ers — with Mike as offensive coordinator and Ed as a wide receiver — won the championship over the San Diego Chargers in Super Bowl XXIX in 1995.

Three years later, their fathers reconnected on the Denver Broncos, where Mike as head coach led the team, including Ed, to two titles in 1998 and 1999.

Ed McCaffrey greets his sons Max McCaffrey (left) and Christian McCaffrey on the field.Cyrus McCrimmon/The Denver Post via Getty

Cyrus McCrimmon/The Denver Post via Getty

Flash forward a quarter of a century, and now the younger McCaffrey and Shanahan are on the cusp of history.

If McCaffrey, aka CMC, and the Niners win on Feb. 11 against the Kansas City Chiefs, he’ll become the third NFL rushing champion to win a Super Bowl in the same year, following another Broncos legend, Terrell Davis, as well as Dallas Cowboys Hall of Famer Emmitt Smith (1992, 1993, 1995), according to CBS Sports.

Kyle (L) and Mike Shanahan.Tracy A Woodward/The Washington Post via Getty

Tracy A Woodward/The Washington Post via Getty

A Super Bowl win would also mean that Kyle and Mike would become the first father and son head coaches to win a title.

Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

Having a famous football star dad could seemingly be a burden for a young kid learning the game, but for Christian, it was a bonus.

Christian McCaffrey with his parents, Ed and Lisa, and his brothers Max and Dylan.Christian McCaffrey/ Instagram

Christian McCaffrey/ Instagram

“Growing up I was Ed’s kid, we were always Ed’s sons and so in a way, that was an advantage for us because we got to experience a little bit of that already,”he saidin a conversation with his former Stanford University coach last fall. “We would hear the voices whenever we showed up to an AAU game and different things like that. And I used to have a small amount of resentment, I think myself and three of my brothers, we all kind of wanted to branch off and create our own name.”

Kyle Shanahan and Christian McCaffrey.Michael Zagaris/San Francisco 49ers/Getty

Michael Zagaris/San Francisco 49ers/Getty

He added, “But that was a very, very small time in our lives where we had that, and I think it quickly became here’s a guy who did it the right way and played 13 years in the NFL and won three Super Bowls, been to a Pro Bowl, he’s been cut, he’s been traded, he’s been at the highest of the game. That’s like a cheat code right in your own home, use that to your advantage. I tried to do that as much as possible.”

The Kansas City Chiefs and the San Francisco 49ers will face off in Super Bowl LVIII, airing on CBS on Feb. 11 at 6:30 p.m. ET.

source: people.com