When the 49ers landed at San Jose International Airport after their gutting Super Bowl LIV loss in February, general manager John Lynch saw he’d received a text from his friend, Kurt Warner.
He’s saved that message from the Hall of Fame quarterback.
And Lynch read some of Warner’s words Tuesday as he explained how the 49ers have navigated the aftermath of a nightmare. Warner’s nightmare occurred in 2002 when the Rams were upset in Super Bowl XXXVI by the Patriots, who were 14-point underdogs.
Warner said the loss made their 14-2 season feel like a failure. And their deep disappointment carried over to the next season, when the Rams started 0-5.
“My advice would be to not be afraid to celebrate.” Warner wrote to Lynch. “As disappointed as you are, celebrate the accomplishment you had. You had an outstanding year.”
Said Lynch: “I think there’s wisdom in that.”
What’s the best way to handle the psychological fallout after a Lombardi Trophy slips from one’s grip in historically painful fashion?
It’s a question Lynch and head coach Kyle Shanahan began discussing on the flight home from Miami, two days after the 49ers became the third team in NFL history to squander a 10-point lead in the fourth quarter of a Super Bowl in their 31-20 loss to the Chiefs.
In a team meeting held after they landed, Shanahan and Lynch asked their players to celebrate the season they had — a request inspired by Warner’s text — and steeled them for the challenge ahead.
Players were invited to stand up and recount their favorite memories from a 13-3 season that was preceded by a four-win disaster in 2018. And they were told an unpleasant fact: Only three of the first 53 teams that have lost a Super Bowl have returned to win a title the next season — and only eight have returned to the game.
“One of the things Kyle and I said is we needed to face it, head on,” Lynch said. “And the reality of it. And the reality was when we started doing our research it’s not the prettiest picture.”
If there’s a balance to be struck between using a Super Bowl loss as motivation and moving on, the 49ers seem to be erring on the side of using their pain to pulverize their opponents this season.
It began in the moments after the game when tight end George Kittle said he and linebacker Kwon Alexander had declared the upcoming season, “The Legendary Revenge Tour of 2020.”
The theme has continued this summer.
“We have unfinished business,” running back Raheem Mostert said. “That’s our motto.”
“We all have that ingrained in our brain,” defensive lineman Arik Armstead said. “It’s all motivating us and pushing us to get back there.”
Wide receiver Tavon Austin, 30, who was signed at the start of training camp, has picked up on the vibe.
“I can tell there’s still a lot of heartbreak about what happened last year, since they had the game in their hands and they lost it,” said Austin, who is on injured reserve. “The mentality around here is different, so you don’t want to be that person to mess that up and slow things up.”
After the 49ers met virtually this summer because of the coronavirus pandemic, Shanahan showed them clips from the Super Bowl for the first time when they were in training camp.
It was part of a montage that featured plays that determined wins and losses from a season in which the 49ers played eight games decided by seven or fewer points. There were evidently a few plays from the fourth quarter of the Super Bowl when they were outscored 21-0.
“I can feel the cringe any time that film comes on,” said left tackle Trent Williams, who was acquired in a trade in April. “Everybody still is pretty much holding a grudge about the last game and they can’t wait to get out there and kind of start that quest again.”
For those wondering whether the 49ers would be better served to push the game out of their minds, they have an answer: That’s impossible.
All Super Bowl losers discuss the pain of falling short, but the 49ers had a 96.1% win probability with just over seven minutes left in the fourth quarter, according to ESPN.
So pain isn’t the word for the 49ers. Agony? Unspeakable torment?
Right guard Mike Person, who retired in the offseason, turned off his TV in the spring when he saw old Stanley Cup highlights. Sure, it was hockey, but it was just too difficult to see a team celebrating a championship.
Lynch can relate: He feels ill when the Chiefs’ head coach or quarterback suddenly appear on his screen.
“Every time a commercial with Andy Reid, who I love, or Patrick (Mahomes) comes on, I flip the channel,” Lynch said. “I just can’t go there.”
Pass rusher Nick Bosa, who wept on the bench in the final moments of the loss, hasn’t rewatched the fourth quarter. And cornerback Emmanuel Moseley could only summon 12 words this summer when asked about his coverage gaffe that sparked Kansas City’s comeback.
“I just learned from it,” Moseley said. “Moved on. And focus on this year.”
Defensive coordinator Robert Saleh said, smiling, in late August that he’s yet to move on from a defeat that caused him to lay “in bed for a couple weeks.” Lynch, who won the only Super Bowl he participated in as a player (with Tampa Bay in 2003), noted he was part of two conference championship losses that have left scars.
“As for how long that (loss to the Chiefs) will linger, I think it will, forever,” Lynch said. “You think of games that got away. You can’t sugarcoat it like, ‘Oh, hey, you’ll forget about this.’ You don’t forget about something like that. The only thing I know to do is turn around and work.”
It’s tempting to reach for the easy story line: The 49ers, naive and loose last year, are now hardened and stone-faced as they prepare for their revenge tour.
But that would be ignoring silly sagas such as the ongoing T-shirt back-and-forth between quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo and Kittle, the latter of whom sported a “Garoppolo/Kittle 2020” shirt before they both switched allegiances.
Garoppolo formed a ticket with wide receiver Trent Taylor. And Kittle chose Bosa.
“If Jimmy has options, I guess I’ll have options as well,” Kittle explained. “It just seems like a strong (move) for me, (Bosa) has quads of the century. I think this will be a good running mate.”
Time has at least eased some of the sting. And perhaps dealing with a global pandemic, a health crisis that began shortly after the Super Bowl, has provided some perspective.
But even before the world changed, the 49ers were able to smile in the hours after their world had been rocked.
After the Super Bowl, they attended an elaborate team party at American Airlines Arena, about 13 miles away from the site of their nightmare. Kittle said he had a bucket-list moment when he got a selfie with rapper Lil Wayne and thought it was cathartic to “let it all loose and move on.”
As for Lynch, on reflection, he wonders if he appreciated the sentiment of Warner’s celebrate-the-season text before he received it. Lynch spent time at the postgame commiserating with Shanahan and had an hour-long conversation with former 49ers running back Frank Gore.
“Despite the loss and how devastating it was, we ended up having a good time,” Lynch said.
“As good of a time as you could.”
Eric Branch covers the 49ers for The San Francisco Chronicle. Email: ebranch@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @Eric_Branch
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