Losing Super Bowl LVIII was an agonizing one for the San Francisco 49ers after they made their second appearance in the last four seasons and came up short of lifting the Lombardi Trophy once again against the same opponent.
Niners linebacker Fred Warner revealed on Wednesday’s The Insiders that he is still trying to get past the result of Super Bowl LVIII -- and he's not yet over the team's Super Bowl LI defeat against the Kansas City Chiefs, either.
“Yeah, not fully over it for sure. That one is going to sting for a long time. I’m not even over the first one,” Warner told NFL Network’s Judy Battista and Steve Wyche. “So, I’m sure this last one was like three months ago? I’m still not over it. Those things stay with you. In this league, you earn scars throughout the league. You face adversity losing a Super Bowl and of course as big as adversity that you could hit, and it stays with you.
“It makes you stronger, it makes you better. I know I’ll be better from it. I’ve watched it several times and seen different plays we could have made to win that game. You just got to be better next time. It’s not a matter of if in my mind, it’s a matter of when, when we do go win one.”
Warner is not the only 49er feeling motivated by the loss.
Cornerback Charvarius Ward said the setback is making him and the team “a little hungrier” heading into the 2024 season.
San Francisco will feature a new defensive look this upcoming season. The 49ers hired Nick Sorensen as their next defensive coordinator after the club parted ways with Steve Wilks after one season.
Warner is confident Sorensen will get San Francisco’s defense back on track.
“Yeah, Nick is great, man. I love the hire,” Warner said. “Nick has been a part of this organization for a couple of year now. He’s been heavily involved with the linebackers, and he’s played the game for a long time. He’s just been a true players’ coach. He knows what it’s supposed to look like you know. I think he’s obviously been around our scheme for a long time so we will be able to sure up some of those things we were lacking in last year. And we can get back to playing dominant 49ers defensive football. That’s been the standard since I’ve been here.”