Warner shares ‘key' to 49ers winning sixth Super Bowl

Warner shares ‘key' to 49ers winning sixth Super Bowl originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

The 49ers have come very close to winning a sixth Super Bowl in recent seasons, but is there a way San Francisco finally can get over the hump?

Star linebacker Fred Warner believes it's only a matter of time -- and knows how the 49ers can get it done.

"It’s not a matter of 'if' in my mind; it’s a matter of 'when' when we do go win one," Warner said Wednesday on NFL Network (h/t SI.com). “I think the key is to continue to find guys who are finishers. You want to bring in cats who can finish. The guys who are here, you want to have an internal look at yourself and be like, ‘How can I be better for this team?’

"I’ve looked at myself, even when I had a good year last year, how can I be better for that moment to where I punch a ball out, force an interception? I don’t know, just help finish the game for my team.”

San Francisco fell to the Kansas City Chiefs in overtime of Super Bowl LVIII on Feb. 11, just over four years after Patrick Mahomes and Co. defeated the 49ers in Super Bowl LIV. And in 2013, the Vince Lombardi Trophy slipped out of their grasp against the Baltimore Ravens in Super Bowl XLVII.

That's a lot of heartbreak in the 21st century, and it doesn't include the team's other playoff losses in recent years. But Warner knows that general manager John Lynch and coach Kyle Shanahan must keep the same philosophy they've had since taking the helm in 2017 -- building a championship team brick by brick.

Warner is an example of that, drafted by the 49ers in 2018 and now serving as the franchise epitome of a leader both on and off the field. And with the rest of San Francisco's star-studded roster, along with players brought in via the draft, trades and NFL free agency, All-Pro Fred is right.

The 49ers' Super Bowl chances remain very much alive as they approach the 2024 NFL season.

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