To sum it up: I thought Kelly was the most talented coach available to the 49ers at this point (after Sean Payton, David Shaw, Adam Gase and Hue Jackson found reasons not to take the job or quietly said no thanks).
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Kelly compiled a 26-21 record in three seasons with the Eagles.
Kelly took a Philadelphia squad that went 4-12 in 2012 and went 10-6 to win the NFC East division crown and reach the first round of the playoffs. Kelly had a disappointing season with the Eagles.
Jarryd Hayne has a new man to impress with the San Francisco 49ers announcing the appointment of Chip Kelly as their new coach. Quarterback Colin Kaepernick and running back Reggie Bush were lost to injury.
The Cardinals have done fine against Kelly’s Eagles, winning two of three, including the division-clinching rout in Philly this season.
“To me, if Kelly can straighten things out with Kaepernick and get him back to the way he was, this team could catapult way back up the ranks and be a contender again”. “My immediate focus is to build the best coaching staff possible, one that will maximize the abilities of each of our players and put us in the best position to win football games”, said Chip Kelly in a statement.
“Chip’s passion for the game and vision for the future of this team clearly stood out to us during the search process”, Baalke continued. The former OR coach was 6-9 in 2015 after two 10-6 seasons, prompting Eagles CEO Jeffrey Lurie to make a change. We could see a major rebirth for the 49ers’ franchise quarterback next season.
For a coach who firmly believes in his up-tempo offense that utilizes the read-option, Kelly might be in an ideal situation for his offense to really work after watching it stumble during his a year ago with the Eagles because he didn’t have the players to make it to work.
There’s more than enough time for Baalke and Kelly to become friendly before the start of the 2016 season, obviously.
In San Francisco, Kelly won’t have to be the general manager.
Kelly won a power struggle in the Eagles’ front office past year, one that landed him the additional title of head of football operations.
Baalke said Kelly’s reputation of a “vigilant coach” influenced his decision.
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ESPN.com’s Bill Barnwell noted the 49ers wouldn’t necessarily need to cut Kaepernick for financial purposes, since they will have around $50 million in cap space after their rollover before doing anything. “Chip Kelly is a guy I want in the league”, Young said.
