Chip Kelly’s introductory press conference came almost a week after Kelly was announced as the new head coach of the San Francisco 49ers.
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Kelly spoke of the 49ers legacy and said he was “very humbled and very honored to be here”, adding “I can’t wait to get started”.
The 49ers retained running back coach Tom Rathman and are conducting interviews with other members of fired coach Jim Tomsula’s staff.
And, no, he’s not ready to name Colin Kaepernick his quarterback – though Kelly likes both Kaepernick and Blaine Gabbert, who ended the season as San Francisco’s starter.
If Hayne remains on the roster through to April 4 when the team’s 90-man training camp convenes in Santa Clara, he will get his chance to impress his new head coach.
Kelly suddenly is the center of the 49ers’ universe and this isn’t a bad thing for them at all.
“Obviously Kap is an extremely talented football player and you need a good quarterback to win”, Kelly said.
LeSean McCoy had anything but a pleasant break-up with the Eagles and it was no secret that his biggest issue was with Chip Kelly.
And clearly, Kelly’s mission is to produce football unlike any other that’s out there.
If you want to read between the lines, perhaps the lines about automatically buying in are in regards to the criticisms that Kelly will run off players who don’t completely buy into his scheme. “I think you have to be yourself in terms of how you do things”, Kelly said.
Kiffin has said he would likely stay a third season at Alabama and has already turned down a similar job offer from UCLA.
Vrabel retired from the National Football League after the 2010 season to begin his coaching career, but has just two years of National Football League coaching experience.
The 49ers just hired former Eagles head coach Chip Kelly to take over for one-and-done coach Jim Tomsula.
“There’s always someone that you kind of saw them on film and you’re not really sure about and then you see them in person and you’re like, ‘Wow, this kid is really special”.
Kelly was then introduced to the stage and endeared himself to fans in San Francisco by calling the 49ers “the pre-eminent franchise in football”, and he said he was “struck by the synergy” in the building, per Around the NFL.
“Because I got fired, I look at it more like an autopsy”, Kelly said. Kelly reportedly met with Kaepernick Wednesday. We were rag-tag. There were games where it didn’t look like we were putting forth 100 percent effort.
Expanding on that thought, per La Canfora, he said he’s excited “to be a part of” a 49ers team that is prepared well for the future.
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When asked if San Francisco will have a winning record and reach postseason play next season for the first time since 2013, Kelly quickly responded, “That’s the goal”. His “team friendly” deal makes it easy for the 49ers to cut him if they can’t find a home for him via trade.
