On Thursday afternoon the San Francisco 49ers announced that they hired Chip Kelly to be the new head coach of their team.
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Kelly was sacked by Philadelphia before last season ended after three years in the role, with the Eagles showing him the door after a hugely disappointing 7-9 season in the NFC East.
Kelly will be tasked with pumping up the San Francisco offense and helping the 49ers bounce back from a dismal 5-11 record.
Kelly is thought to be fond of quarterback Colin Kaepernick, who was benched after eight games in 2015 and who is due to earn a base salary of almost $12 million in 2016.
If 49ers general manager Trent Baalke was really trying to extend an “olive branch”, then you’d think he’d have let Kaepernick know that Kelly was going to be hired. The former Eagles coach will replace fired coach Jim Tomsula. 49ers assistant G.M. Tom Gable (“a former close associate of Kelly’s in Philly”, according to Kawakami) should help foster a productive relationship between Kelly and Baalke, too.
The team posted the announcement on Twitter Thursday morning.
Chip Kelly sat down four years ago in an Elk Grove home to nail down the University of Oregon’s top recruit: Arik Armstead. After three seasons in Philadelphia, Kelly still needs to prove he can adapt his collegiate approach to the pros, whether it be in how he deals with grown men versus college kids, or the fact that his breakneck-speed, perpetual-motion practices may not work as well in the National Football League, where seasons are longer, rosters are smaller and players are older. If Chip Kelly fails in San Fran, it will cause minimal damage and both parties will be able to part ways without stepping on anyone’s toes (for the most part). Niners GM Trent Baalke will continue to be the overseer of personnel and all Kelly will have to worry about is coaching.
“Congrats to Chip”, Armstead tweeted hours after the Kelly news became public.
“I feel bad for (defensive coordinator) Billy (Davis) because our numbers are so skewed”, pass rusher Connor Barwin told reporters in Philadelphia last week.
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This is also interesting because it raises the question: Are the 49ers now intent on keeping Colin Kaepernick? Not just a quarterback issue with Blaine Gabbert and a very expensive Kaepernick waiting to see what happens to him. Sam Bradford and Mark Sanchez aren’t your ideal quarterbacks to run Kelly’s system. “If you hire him to be your head football coach, well, chances are he’s going to win”. He was reportedly chosen by the 49ers over Mike Shanahan. With Kelly in the fold, the 49ers can at least envision their once-franchise quarterback flourishing again, with Kelly’s imagination and Kaepernick’s athleticism a ideal fit.
