Chip Kelly

Chip Kelly Eyeing Offensive Coordinator Job

January 3rd, 2017 at 11:33am CST by Zachary Links

Chip Kelly is out in San Francisco and he already knows what he wants to do next. The former 49ers head coach says that he would like to be an offensive coordinator, according to Jay Glazer of FOX Sports (Twitter link). Glazer did not specify whether Kelly was referring to an NFL or college opportunity, but our educated guess is that Kelly is looking to stay in the professional ranks.

Kelly also says that former GM Trent Baalke was working to get him fired for several weeks. Ultimately, Baalke got his way, but both men were shown out the door together. This isn’t the first time that Baalke has swayed ownership to make a coaching change. Glazer says that Baalke was the reason the 49ers elected not to hire Adam Gase in 2015, and instead went with Jim Tomsula. Apparenty, the Niners were set to announce Gase as their new coach before Baalke went to Jed York and undercut the decision. Gase’s Dolphins are getting ready for Wild Card weekend while the 49ers are blowing things up (again) after a two-win season.

This has been a bad week of PR for Baalke. On Monday, it was reported that Kelly and others in the organization were pushing for the team to draft Dak Prescott but Baalke did not pull the trigger on taking him.

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49ers Dismiss Trent Baalke, Chip Kelly

January 1st, 2017 at 8:39pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

The 49ers have fired general manager Trent Baalke and head coach Chip Kelly, per a team announcement.

“Despite my feelings for Trent and Chip, I felt the decision to change our football leadership was absolutely necessary,” said CEO Jed York.

Baalke confirmed earlier Sunday that the team had let him go after a six-year run as its GM, while ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported Saturday that Kelly would also exit as part of “widespread changes” for the franchise.

Kelly, unlike Baalke, had neither a long nor remotely successful tenure with the 49ers. The offensive mind took over for the fired Jim Tomsula last winter and ultimately fared even worse than his predecessor, who guided San Francisco to a 5-11 finish in his lone year on the job. Under Kelly, the Niners amassed a paltry two wins – both of which came against the NFC West rival Rams. Kelly’s fast-paced offense was a major part of the problem, as the unit entered Sunday ranked 24th in DVOA, 27th in scoring and 29th in yardage.

Given his struggles in Philadelphia, where taking control over the roster led to his downfall, and San Francisco, it’s possible the 53-year-old Kelly’s days as an NFL coach are over. Kelly parlayed a 46-7 stretch at Oregon from 2009-12 into the Eagles’ head coaching job, which began in promising fashion. However, after back-to-back 10-win campaigns in 2013 and ’14, the Eagles sputtered to 6-9 in 2015 and let Kelly go with one week remaining in the season. He quickly landed in San Francisco, but his disastrous reign in the Bay Area leaves him with a 28-35 mark in nearly four full seasons in the pros. While Kelly denied interest in a potential return to the college ranks in October, that will likely be his next stop.

As for the 49ers, with Baalke and Kelly in the rear-view mirror, they’ll embark on an “exhaustive” search for a new GM and head coach, per FOX Sports’ Peter Schrager (Twitter link). The next regime will take over a club that’s set to pick second in this year’s draft. Further adding to the allure of both positions is that the 49ers should have upward of $85MM in cap room, as Joel Corry of CBS Sports notes (Twitter link).

Coaching/GM Notes, Pt. 1: Pagano, Payton, Kelly

January 1st, 2017 at 10:48am CST by Rory Parks

We heard earlier today that Broncos head coach Gary Kubiak is likely to step down while the Bears are expected to retain head coach John Fox and GM Ryan Pace. Let’s take a look at some other coaching and GM rumors from around the league, which are so abundant that we will split this post into two parts. Part 2 can be found here.

Colts owner Jim Irsay has attempted to downplay the notion that head coach Chuck Pagano and/or GM Ryan Grigson are on the hot seat, but ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports that Irsay has been “very unhappy” with his team’s performance, and coaches within the organization believe that change is coming. It appears as if Pagano’s job is certainly in jeopardy, although it remains unclear whether Grigson could be fired as well. Irsay could not be reached for comment.
There is “mutual interest” between the Rams and Saints head coach Sean Payton, according to NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport, who reports that the ball is in New Orleans GM Mickey Loomis‘ court. If Loomis decides he’s willing to part with Payton for moderate compensation, Payton would be the clear front-runner to take over in Los Angeles. And if the Saints do move on from Payton, Jaguars interim head coach Doug Marrone would be a strong candidate to replace him in New Orleans, according to Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports. Marrone could also take over the Jacksonville job on a permanent basis.
The Jaguars will not, however, consider Chip Kelly, as Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk writes.
La Canfora tweets out a list of names who could be in contention for the 49ers‘ GM job, a list that includes Louis Riddick, Scott Pioli, and George Paton. Meanwhile, San Francisco is said to be high on Patriots OC Josh McDaniels and Dolphins DC Vance Joseph as head coaching candidates.
Peter Schrager of FoxSports.com tweets that Panthers DC Sean McDermott is lined up for multiple head coaching interviews.

49ers Expected To Fire Trent Baalke, Chip Kelly

December 31st, 2016 at 7:49pm CST by Sam Robinson

The 49ers are expected to fire both Trent Baalke and Chip Kelly after Sunday’s game as part of “widespread changes” set for this franchise, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com reports (on Twitter).

Schefter reports both are said to know their time is coming to an end in San Francisco, and the ESPN.com reporter notes meetings about the duo’s fate are expected to occur as early as Sunday night and no later than Monday.

Sources also informed NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport a house-cleaning involving both Baalke and Kelly being fired is likely. Ownership is prepared to eat the rest of Kelly’s four-year contract, Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com tweets, and met this week to discuss the roles of Baalke, Kelly and Jed York (Twitter link). Baalke still has two years left on his deal.

York, though, looks to be secure in his position. Schefter reports the CEO, along with executive VP Paraag Marathe, will lead the search for Baalke and Kelly’s successors.

While Baalke has long been rumored to be a chopping-block candidate after six years in charge of the team, a consensus on Kelly had not previously emerged. The coach’s willingness to adjust his accelerated offensive pace and reshuffle his staff — including DC Jim O’Neil — played a role in this decision, Matt Maiocco of CSNBayArea.com reports.

Should the team make these moves, it would mark the first time in 12 years the 49ers will have needed to replace both a head coach and GM. The 49ers did so when they hired Mike Nolan and Scot McGloughan in 2005. That came after the team finished 2-14 in 2004. If the 49ers drop their Week 17 game, it will mark the fourth 2-14 season in the franchise’s 70-year history. It also represents a staggering freefall from Baalke’s early years.

The Baalke-Jim Harbaugh partnership dominated during the early 2010s, rocketing the franchise to relatively similar heights to which the teams of the 1980s and ’90s soared. San Francisco glided to three straight NFC championship games, came within a Baltimore goal-line stand of winning a sixth Super Bowl title and went 36-11-1 in that three-year span. Harbaugh’s departure after a tumultuous 2014 season marked the beginning of a rapid conclusion of this freefall under the 52-year-old Baalke’s watch, with the 49ers going 7-24 in the Jim Tomsula/Kelly seasons.

Despite being hailed for his fast-paced offense, Kelly’s unit has only moved up two spots in the NFL hierarchy, rising from 31st to 29th. It’s a steep fall for Kelly if he’s fired for the second time in two years. In that same stretch, the 49ers’ defense has diminished much further, slinking from the No. 4-ranked unit in 2015 to the league’s worst this season. At 408.yards allowed per game, the 49ers are the only team yielding more than 400 yards per contest.

The 53-year-old coach has not been given much to work with after the 49ers almost completely bypassed free agency and featured a depleted roster. But the team’s win total sinking to these depths after a 5-11 campaign under Tomsula may have nullified belief among ownership the former Eagles and Oregon coach could turn it around.

If Kelly is axed, this will mark the first time a team has fired head coaches in consecutive years since the 1976-77 49ers. San Francisco already holds the distinction of being the only team since the AFL-NFL merger to do this and actually cycled through four coaches between 1976-78 before hiring Bill Walsh in 1979.

Coaching Notes: Panthers, Bears, 49ers, Jets

December 31st, 2016 at 12:41pm CST by Ben Levine

After going 15-1 and losing the Super Bowl last season, the Panthers have taken a huge step back in 2016. The team enters the final week of the season with a 6-9 record, and both the offense and the defense rank towards the bottom half of the league in several team stats.

Despite the struggles, coach Ron Rivera indicated that he isn’t anticipating any changes to his coaching staff…as long as it’s his decision.

“Remember, it’s the same group that was 15-1, same group that led the league in scoring,” Rivera told Bill Voth of Black and Blue Review. “And in the last five years, we’ve had a top-10 defense. So as I look it and break things down, yeah, there’s some things that we have to work on and change. You guys heard me talk about evolving. We have to.”

As Darin Gantt of ProFootballTalk.com points out, Rivera hasn’t stuck to similar promises in the past. For instance, the team relieved special teams coach Richard Rodgers of his duties following the 2014 campaign. Gantt believes that offensive coordinator Mike Shula and quarterbacks coach Ken Dorsey could find themselves on the hot seat.

Let’s take a look at some other coaching notes from around the NFL…

Things haven’t gone as planned during John Fox‘s second season with the Bears. The team is looking to avoid their worst 16-game record in franchise history, and blame will naturally lie on the head coach. Rich Campbell of the Chicago Tribune writes that chairman George McCaskey will likely wait until the end of the season to make any decisions on his coaching staff’s fate. Campbell notes that the organization waited until the 2014 offseason to fire general manager Phil Emery and coach Marc Trestman.
Eric Branch of SFGate.com wonders if head coach Chip Kelly‘s unwillingness to adjust his fast-paced gameplan could ultimately lead to his demise with the 49ers. As the writer notes, the coach wasn’t necessarily put in a position to succeed with a lack of talent on the roster. However, Campbell believes the coach’s devotion to his gameplan could come up during offseason discussions with CEO Jed York and a new general manager (assuming Trent Baalke is fired). For what it’s worth, Kelly hasn’t indicated that he’s willing to change his ways. “I think we always look at everything on a weekly basis trying to see how we can improve,” Kelly said following his team’s overtime loss to the Jets in early December. “You look at the game yesterday: It’s about making one more play than the other team. It’s not like we’re getting taken to the woodshed and don’t have an opportunity to compete and play.”
Jets head coach Todd Bowles and general manager Mike Maccagnan are expected to receive a “mulligan” from owner Woody Johnson for the team’s subpar performance this season, writes ESPN.com’s Rich Cimini. The writer acknowledges that it’s been a tough year for the organization, but he also notes that it’d be a knee-jerk reaction to fire the tandem after only two seasons.

West Notes: Lockett, Kelly, Rams, Houston

December 26th, 2016 at 6:55pm CST by Sam Robinson

Tyler Lockett underwent surgery today to repair a broken right leg he suffered during the Seahawks‘ loss to the Cardinals on Saturday, but the wide receiver avoided any further damage. The second-year player avoided ligament damage, Pete Carroll said (via Curtis Crabtree of Pro Football Talk, on Twitter).

The tibia and fibula bones breaking through Lockett’s skin provided the Seahawks with some urgency to complete this surgery as soon as possible to prevent infection, Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times reports. Per Carroll, Lockett should be up and moving in four-to-six weeks. However, the team does not expect the receiver to return should it make a third Super Bowl trip in four years, and Lockett will likely head to IR to open up a roster spot, per Condotta.

Seattle has already made a roster move involving a wide receiver, Condotta reports (on Twitter), so that would point to Lockett venturing on IR as another pass-catcher rises to the 53-man roster. Seventh-round rookie Kenny Lawler and 2015 UDFA Kasen Williams comprise the receiver contingent on the Seahawks’ practice squad.

Here’s more from the West divisions as Week 16 winds down.

Chip Kelly says he hasn’t had discussions with 49ers ownership about his status for 2017, but the first-year San Francisco coach figures to do so once season ends Sunday, Cam Inman of the Bay Area News Group reports (on Twitter). Both Kelly and GM Trent Baalke are on thin ice after this 49ers season included a 13-game losing streak, the longest in franchise history.
The Rams are considering moving Greg Robinson to guard for Week 17 against the Cardinals, interim coach John Fassel said (per Alden Gonzalez of ESPN.com). Robinson started 35 straight games at left tackle for the Rams and has led the NFL with 31 penalties since the start of the 2015 season. Gonzalez writes the Rams may have already moved on from Robinson at left tackle after two different head coaches deactivated him in the past two weeks. The Rams used the No. 2 pick on Robinson in 2014 and are in danger of seeing next to nothing from another No. 2 overall tackle. Then-St. Louis abandoned the Jason Smith experiment after three seasons in 2011, giving Smith 26 starts.
Andy Reid said Justin Houston experienced swelling in his surgically repaired knee, leading to the Chiefs deactivating him on Christmas night. When asked about the possibility Houston could miss the playoffs, the fourth-year Chiefs coach said the team “will take it day by day and see.” Houston, who was severely limited during Kansas City’s two-game stay in last year’s AFC bracket, missed 10 games this season after offseason ACL surgery. “It felt a little bit better than it did the day before. He felt like things were getting better,” Reid said of Houston, via Blair Kerkhoff of the Kansas City Star. “That’s what we’re going on here. It’s just a matter of that thing calming down a little bit and he’ll be back.”
Gary Kubiak said he will make a decision on Paxton Lynch starting Week 17 for the Broncos soon, Nicki Jhabvala of the Denver Post reports. The defending Super Bowl champions are now eliminated from the playoffs, and this season finale against the Raiders would give the first-rounder a third start in advance of an offseason where he’ll be expected to compete with Trevor Siemian for the 2017 starting job. Although, Siemian seems to have the leg up despite being previously viewed as a stopgap solution.

Zach Links contributed to this report

NFC Rumors: Snead, 49ers, Norman, Giants

December 25th, 2016 at 11:20am CST by Sam Robinson

Les Snead‘s job status continues to generate disparate stances, but the latest points to the Rams GM being ousted. Snead is expected to follow Jeff Fisher out the door, according to Ben Volin of the Boston Globe, who notes the five years without a winning record — and Los Angeles boasting the league’s worst offense — will make it difficult to generate enthusiasm from a fanbase the franchise is attempting to grow now that it’s back in California.

Earlier this month, a report emerged that Snead was expected to survive, with another indicating the GM was not long for employment in L.A. With the Rams having lost to the 49ers and dropping to 4-11 — in line for their worst record since 2011, the final year of the pre-Snead/Fisher regime — it’s obvious the more fan-friendly move would be to start fresh.

Here’s more from around the league on Christmas Day.

Neither Trent Baalke nor Chip Kelly is expected to survive Black Monday, per Volin, with a new 49ers GM expected to be able to select his own coach. Kelly’s team won its first game since Week 1 in beating the Rams in L.A., but the formerly sought-after coach steered the team to its worst losing streak in the franchise’s 70-year history. Baalke could land in Denver due to his solid relationship with Broncos GM John Elway, but the sixth-year decision-maker has overseen a 49ers freefall over the past two years after that run of three consecutive conference championship games.
Josh Norman considered overtures from the Bears this offseason but told Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune) postgame the sides weren’t on the same page. “At one point they were in the running,” Norman said. “They weren’t talking what I was talking about, though. I evaluate the team as well but if you’re not in the same [area when it comes to pay], you’re disqualified.” Washington beat out several teams to sign Norman, who intercepted two passes on Sunday, for five years and $75MM.
Dirk Koetter did not address Doug Martin‘s future with the Buccaneers after the team’s loss to the Saints on Saturday, noting that his decision to make the running back a healthy scratch came from believing previous injury replacement Jacquizz Rodgers was a better option, per Bradley Handwerger of the Associated Press. Rodgers was a healthy inactive last week. Martin’s $7MM salary next season is fully guaranteed as part of his five-year, $35.75MM deal, but no guaranteed money is part of this deal after 2017.
The Giants clinched their first playoff berth in five years Saturday, but a view around the league is they’ve received a reputation of seeing leniency from the commissioner’s office. This comes after they were penalized a maximum of 12 draft slots for their walkie-talkie infraction. “My understanding is that folks inside the Giants organization, they generally win the jump balls,” Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk said during a radio appearance (via Ryan Hannable of WEEI.com). “They have that working in their favor. The John Mara connection. Look, it’s a league where the commissioner formally answers to the owners, so the most influential owners are going to have the greatest influence on the commissioner. Teams realize [they] don’t have any juice with the commissioner and other teams do. The Giants do. It’s not a surprise.” When comparing this penalty to the league docking the Chiefs a third-round pick for committing a common violation regarding premature free agency dialogue with Jeremy Maclin, Florio categorized the Giants as getting off easy.

Coaching Notes: Bowles, Fisher, Kelly

December 7th, 2016 at 8:43pm CST by Ben Levine

Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News defends Todd Bowles, saying the second-year Jets head coach should be given at least another season at the helm. Furthermore, he notes that firing Bowles could create a toxic environment, comparing that scenario to the Cleveland Browns.

“Woody needs to stay the course,” a league executive told Mehta. “He can’t be switching this every two years, because (the coaching vacancy) would become unattractive for a lot of coaches. He doesn’t want to have that job that’s turning over every two years. He’s got to give Bowles another shot.”

In his one-plus seasons in New York, Bowles has compiled a 13-15 record.

Mehta also reports that the Jets gave one-year extensions to position coaches prior to the season, although “it’s a near certainty” that some of those assistants won’t stick around.

Let’s check out some other coaching notes from around the NFL…

Meanwhile, Jets wideout Brandon Marshall pointed to his former organization, the Bears, when explaining why the team shouldn’t fire Bowles. “No, I would hope not,” Marshall told Darryl Slater of NJ.com. “How did that work out for Chicago? Sometimes, you blow up stuff, and you feel like that’s the answer. And it’s not. That’s one of the reasons why football is so terrible in the NFL these days, is because there’s so much turnover…And it’s not just football at this level. People expect guys to win right away. You bring in a new regime, and they say you have a year or two to do it. You need time to build things. You need chemistry.”
The Rams have been widely criticized for giving extensions to coach Jeff Fisher and GM Les Snead, but Snead says the new deals mean the team has “unfinished business” to address. “First of all, what it means is, we’re not satisfied with where we’re at. We’ve got unfinished business,” Snead said, according to Rich Hammond of the Los Angeles Daily News. “We think we can get this thing tipped, and that’s our goal. That’s where all the energy is spent. You’re not going to sleep until it gets done. We have great fans and we’ve been supported. It’s unbelievable. Any time you’re having a disappointing season, you feel for the fans first, because they come and they spend their energy and passion, and we’ve got to do a better job.”
Despite the team’s 1-11 record, 49ers receiver Torrey Smith is convinced that head coach Chip Kelly will be sticking around. “He ain’t going anywhere anyways,” Smith told Eric Branch of SFGate.com. “I don’t think it’s a situation where guys are really concerned about that.”

Zach Links contributed to this post.

49ers’ Chip Kelly Rules Out Return To Oregon

November 30th, 2016 at 6:19pm CST by Dallas Robinson

The University of Oregon fired head football coach Mark Helfrich yesterday, but former Ducks — and current 49ers — head coach Chip Kelly won’t be returning to Eugene anytime soon. “Yep,” said Kelly, when asked by reporters, including Eric Branch of the San Francisco Chronicle, whether he would remain with San Francisco. “So we’re done with that, I hope. The only person I’ve talked to is [Helfrich]. So we can talk about the Bears. I have not talked to anybody at Oregon expect Mark Helfrich.”

Kelly has already been forced to deny rumors that he would leave the NFL and return to the collegiate ranks, as he told reporters last month that he isn’t “going anywhere.” However, as the 49ers continued to struggle this season, NCAA clubs have reached out — privately and indirectly — and been informed that Kelly has no interest in becoming a college coach. Kelly signed a four-year, $24MM contract prior to the 2016 season, but San Francisco has played uninspired football during the first year of his tenure, posting only a single win so far.

Kelly, of course, did experience success during his four seasons with Oregon, managing a 46-7 record while appearing in one National Championship game, a loss to Auburn. Since joining the NFL as the Eagles’ coach in 2013, Kelly has registered a 27-31 overall record, earning one playoff appearance during that stretch.

West Notes: Kelly, Rams, Broncos, Talib, Wolfe

November 22nd, 2016 at 2:58pm CST by Zachary Links

In the midst of a dreadful season, 49ers coach Chip Kelly says he hasn’t discussed his future with team brass.

“No,” Kelly said, according to Eric Branch of the San Francisco Chronicle. “We haven’t had any conversations about that at all. About anybody’s job security.”

After losing 30-17 to New England, the Niners are now 1-9 and their nine-game losing streak ties a 38-year-old franchise worst. Still, Kelly is in his first year with the team and he did not inherit a great roster. It would be a bit surprising if Kelly was jettisoned so soon, but then again, coaches are often on a short leash in the NFL.

Here’s more from the West divisions:

In the middle of the 2015 season, the Rams canned Frank Cignetti and installed Rob Boras as the team’s offensive coordinator. Will they make a similar move this year? “Not given it any consideration,” Fisher said (link via Gary Klein of the Los Angeles Times). “I did that last year. I have confidence in Rob and the offense has confidence in Rob. And the offense right now knows they’re not doing what they should be doing.” The Rams currently rank 31st in total offense, 28th in passing, and 29th in rushing.
The Broncos expect to have cornerback Aqib Talib and defensive end Derek Wolfe back for Sunday night’s game against Kansas City, as Andrew Mason of DenverBroncos.com writes. Talib has missed three games with a back injury and Wolfe was absent in Week 10 as he dealt with an elbow issue.
The Chiefs worked out long snappers Thomas Gafford and Clint Gresham, Terez A. Paylor of the Kansas City Star tweets.

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