The 49ers came a long way in one year. Where do they go after their Super Bowl loss?

The 49ers almost pulled off one of the most dramatic turnarounds in NFL history. In just one year, they went from 4-12 to playing in the Super Bowl, where they came up just short against the Chiefs. Now the question is whether they can bounce back.

“They’ll be back” is a nebulous statement because it’s so dang hard to make it to the Super Bowl. In recent years, the Falcons and Seahawks followed their runner-up finishes with an early playoff exit, while the Rams and Panthers missed the postseason entirely after losing the Super Bowl the year before. Only the Patriots (and two other teams EVER) have gone from Super Bowl losers to winners in consecutive years.

So why should things be any different for the the 49ers, who saw a 20-10 lead over the Chiefs evaporate before their eyes in Super Bowl 54?

Because looking at the route the 49ers took to quickly become contenders, it’s clear this team has more than a narrow window of opportunity.

These are the reasons why the 49ers should feel confident about their future, and what they need to do this offseason to make it back to the Super Bowl.

Some of the blame for the 49ers’ Super Bowl loss rests on Shanahan. He sat on timeouts when the game was tied at 10-10 at the end of the first half, and San Francisco’s powerful running game took a backseat down the stretch. He’ll get even more flak because he now has two high-profile Super Bowl failures.

That said, the loss isn’t solely on him. Twice in the fourth quarter, Shanahan called two great plays that didn’t work because of bad throws from quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo. One was a certain touchdown to Emmanuel Sanders that was overthrown, and the other had George Kittle matched up on Terrell Suggs but was batted down at the line.

They were the right playcalls; the 49ers simply didn’t execute. Shanahan will need to learn from the mistakes he made, too. However, by turning the Niners into a 13-win team that was good in every phase of the game, he proved himself as one of the best young coaches in the NFL.

The 49ers’ offense, which Shanahan is responsible for, scored the second-most points in the NFL this season. Shanahan crafted the league’s second-best rushing game, utilizing a trio of unheralded running backs in Tevin Coleman, Raheem Mostert, and Matt Breida. They completely took over a pair of playoff games, and never stagnated thanks to Shanahan’s advanced blocking schemes and pre-snap motion.

Even when the 49ers lost, they barely lost. All three of their losses in the regular season were decided by one score, and the final margin in the Super Bowl looks worse than it was after Kansas City added a “why not?” touchdown with under 90 seconds to play.

Shanahan consistently had his team prepared for battle, and they came so close to winning it all. Before the Super Bowl, reports came out that said the organization was looking to sign him to a contract extension in the offseason. And why wouldn’t they?

As the season progressed, San Francisco’s offense became more adept at grinding opponents into the ground. Fortunately, the 49ers aren’t set to lose any of their key blockers or their top running backs.

Having a franchise quarterback doesn’t hurt, either. Garoppolo may have flubbed some late throws in the Super Bowl, but was having a decent game until the last quarter. In his first full season as a starter, he still did pretty dang well. He completed just under 70 percent of his passes for 3,978 yards, 27 touchdowns, and 13 interceptions.

Garoppolo helped them win some games, while three different running backs broke 500 yards. Shanahan’s running game and less-is-more passing attack were built on everyone contributing. They’ll be in good shape, especially if they can keep a few names around.

Key offensive players who could be going

Let’s address Staley first. He’s not said whether or not he plans to retire, but he is 35 years old and it wouldn’t be surprising to see him go. But for now, he’s under contract.

Bourne and Breida were both important to the passing and running games, respectively, and both can be retained since they are restricted free agents. Garland was a backup center who wound up starting in the playoffs when starter Weston Richburg went down with an injury.

That just leaves Sanders, a player the 49ers traded for during the regular season. The 32-year-old is a good fit for Shanahan’s offense and shouldn’t be too pricey to bring back. If he doesn’t return though, the 49ers will need to add a receiver.

Every other starter is set to return — and hopefully improve

The 49ers’ top offensive players will be back: Garoppolo, Kittle, fullback Kyle Juszczyk, the entire starting offensive line, and running backs Coleman and Mostert. Kittle is the biggest name and was crucial to their success this season.

There’s also Deebo Samuel, the rookie second-round pick who became Shanahan’s signature “offensive weapon” throughout the season. Samuel caught 57 passes for 802 yards and three touchdowns while rushing 14 times for 159 yards and three more touchdowns. In the postseason, Samuel had 102 rushing yards and 127 receiving yards and played an MVP-like role early on in the Super Bowl.

He’s the gadget player in Shanahan’s offense, and his usage will likely only go up in his second year.

Rookie pass rusher Nick Bosa was incredible for the 49ers, and he’ll be the anchor of what should be a fearsome pass rush for years to come. The 49ers were third in the league in sack rate (8.5) and fifth in total sacks (48) in 2019.

Bosa accounted for nine of those sacks, earning NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year honors along the way. He even had a strip sack in the Super Bowl:

Then there’s DeForest Buckner on the inside of the line. He was constantly disruptive at the point of their defensive front, and played a great game in the Super Bowl. He’s also just 25 years old.

Other defensive linemen — Dee Ford (28), D.J. Jones (25), and Solomon Thomas (24) — will be back and should ensure the 49ers are as good at the point of attack as they were this past season.

Outside of the defensive line, the 49ers will still have their young trio of linebackers in Fred Warner, Kwon Alexander, and Dre Greenlaw. Warner intercepted Patrick Mahomes in the Super Bowl, while the rookie Greenlaw made the play that allowed the 49ers to secure the NFC’s No. 1 seed this season:

Richard Sherman and Jaquiski Tartt, their best players in the secondary, are also both under contract for next season. All of that said, there are some potential departures that could create holes.

Key defensive players who could be going

Armstead led the team with 10 sacks. He likely played himself out of San Francisco’s price range, but the 49ers have plenty of depth on the defensive line.

Although Ward started at free safety and played well, his lengthy injury history means he can probably be extended for cheap. That just leaves Moseley, who took over one of the starting cornerback spots after Ahkello Witherspoon was benched. Moseley is an exclusive-rights free agent, so the 49ers should have little trouble extending him.

Finally, the team will also get another year of defensive coordinator Robert Saleh. He seems destined for a head coaching gig eventually, but he’ll return to hone his league-best defense in San Francisco.

The 49ers will have an estimated $21 million in cap space to work with in the offseason, though they can create some space by releasing players or restructuring contracts. They have the No. 31 overall pick, but are also without second-, third-, or fourth-round picks in the 2020 NFL Draft due to trades.

Fortunately, there aren’t too many moves they need to make. The team mostly needs to focus on locking down some younger players who could hit free agency after next season.

1. Extend Kittle and Buckner

The 49ers may need to get creative with the salary cap, but Paraag Marathe, their money man, has been able to do that in the past. Garoppolo and Sherman are two highly paid players who are on team-friendly deals loaded with incentives and outs.

Buckner and Kittle will be free agents after the 2020 season, and they are critical to their sides of the ball. However the 49ers have to manipulate their salary cap to make this happen, they need to. Both guys would have teams frothing at the mouth and throwing money at them if they were to hit the open market.

2. Extend Ward and Moseley

After the big extensions, we get to the smaller ones. Moseley is easy because he’s an ERFA, and he’s worth the minimum tender amount. Ward is still at the “prove it” stage of his career and will likely scare some teams away with his injury history — he’s only played a full 16-game season once. It makes the most sense for the 49ers to sign the 28-year-old to a deal with performance-based incentives.

3. Get help at WR, CB, OL

Since the 49ers are short on draft picks, it’s a near-guarantee they’ll take the best available player at either receiver, cornerback, or interior offensive line when they make their first-round pick. If they manage to re-sign Sanders and Bourne, then receiver is less of an issue. The same is true for Moseley at cornerback — he showed enough that they could easily go into next season with him as the unquestioned starter.

In all, there shouldn’t be too many new faces on the 49ers next season. They like a lot of their young players and they can cheaply extend most of their pending free agents if they choose to.

The 49ers’ loss in the Super Bowl was crushing to everyone involved, and they know it takes a lot of work to make it that far.

“I think every team that loses the Super Bowl says they’re going to be back,” Kittle said after the game. “I think what we have to do is realistically look ourselves in the mirror and say what worked well for us this year, what didn’t work well for us this year and say how we’re going to make ourselves a better team.”

Luckily for the 49ers, a lot worked well. That’s because they rebuilt toward sustainability, not a one-time shot at a Super Bowl. They were one of the best teams this season, they’re bringing back almost every starter, and there’s nothing to indicate they’re due for a regression.

It’s going to be a long road to get back to the Super Bowl, like it is for every team. But the 49ers are still on the right path to do it.