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Christian McCaffrey is playing in the Super Bowl for the first time in his career. The star running back played like an MVP in his first full season with the San Francisco 49ers, leading all players in scrimmage yards and total touchdowns and tying the longest scoring streak in league history as the team romped their way to the NFC's top seed.
Then, in the playoffs, he proved clutch, scoring the go-ahead touchdown against the Green Bay Packers in the Divisional Round, then tying the NFC Championship game from 7-24 down at halftime against the Detroit Lions.
But as his mother Lisa shared in a recent NFL Films feature, this is not the first time McCaffrey has been in a Super Bowl in any capacity, the first being XXXIII at the conclusion of the 1998-99 season, when his father Ed was a wide receiver for John Elway's Denver Broncos:
"I do remember that moment. We all get in the field. I had (eldest son) Max, him; and I remember being enormously pregnant with (third son) Dylan when he was two years old just running around the confetti and just remembering that he was technically lost when that picture was shot. So really good parenting."
The historic feat that Christian McCaffrey can achieve if 49ers defeat Chiefs at Super Bowl LVIII
It is no secret that Kyle Shanahan has helped unlock Christian McCaffrey's potential for the San Francisco 49ers. However, they have a deeper connection than that.
Almost thirty years ago, their respective fathers Ed McCaffrey and Mike Shanahan also won Super Bowl XXIX with the 49ers. The latter was offensive coordinator at the time, and one of the players in his system was the former.
Fast forward to 2024, and the Christian McCaffrey-Kyle Shanahan tandem can make history by being just the second sons of Super Bowl champions to win a Lombardi Trophy with the same franchise. The only pair to do so far are New York Giants long snappers Steve DeOssie (XXV) and his son Zak (XLII and XLVI).
Kyle Shanahan already has his share of history, becoming the first son of a Super Bowl-appearing head coach to do the same.
