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Chip Kelly

Extra Points: LA, Chip, Rice, Bucs, Jets

January 20th, 2016 at 9:48pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

Negotiations between the Rams and Chargers are going well, according to Bleacher Report’s Jason Cole (video link), as the Bolts continue their quest to leave San Diego for Los Angeles. Cole offers a couple of reasons why the Rams hope the Chargers – not the Raiders – join them as LA’s second NFL team. The Rams believe marketing the Raiders in LA would be a challenge, given their past history in the city. Further, the Rams don’t want the Raiders’ rowdy fans in the state-of-the-art stadium and shopping complex they’re building in Inglewood. It appears the Rams won’t have to worry about it, as Cole expects they’ll reach a deal with the Chargers – perhaps in the next two weeks.

More from around the league:

  • New 49ers head coach Chip Kelly had control over the 53-man roster in Philadelphia, but that won’t be the case in San Francisco. Kelly says he’s “real comfortable with” general manager Trent Baalke controlling the 53-man roster, per the team’s Twitter account. Kelly also claims to be comfortable with quarterbacks Colin Kaepernick and Blaine Gabbert. “Obviously Kap is an extremely talented football player and you need a good quarterback to win,” Kelly said, per Cam Inman of the San Jose Mercury News. “But I was also impressed from the film I watched in terms of how Blaine played this year. Both of those players made this an attractive situation.”
  • Free agent running back Ray Rice is “still hopeful” about a return to the NFL, he told Jonas Shaffer of the Baltimore Sun. Rice, of course, hasn’t been able to find work in the league the last two years as a result of a domestic-violence incident. “I’m not ready to give it up. My second chance, it might take a little longer than I expected, but you know what? I know I still have a lot of game left. I’m not worried about that part of it,” Rice said. The soon-to-be 29-year-old averaged a paltry 3.1 yards per carry in 2013, which currently stands as his final season.
  • Buccaneers head coach Dirk Koetter told Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio the notion that he used other head coaching vacancies as leverage so the Bucs would fire Lovie Smith and promote him is “total, 100 percent B.S.”
  • Before CFL receiver Eric Rogers agreed to a deal with San Francisco on Wednesday, the Jets made him an offer, tweets the New York Daily News’ Manish Mehta.

West Notes: Los Angeles, 49ers, Maclin

January 16th, 2016 at 3:18pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Carson presentation drew laughs from the owners once Disney Chairman Robert Iger mentioned how he’d paid the owners plenty of money over the years. That comment, and a Jerry Jones joke following Iger’s exit from the room, helped escalate the downward-trending Carson initiative’s demise, according to Sam Farmer of the Los Angeles Times.

“He said he paid us. Last time I checked, that money is coming from Disney shareholders, not him,” Jones told his fellow owners during Tuesday’s relocation summit in Houston, per Farmer.

The owners voted 19-13 on whether their votes would be secret. After two votes, the Inglewood project received 21, three shy of the majority needed to relocate the Rams.

Roger Goodell then ushered Stan Kroenke, Dean Spanos and Mark Davis into a private room for an hour-long negotiation. Upon the trio’s return, Davis announced the Raiders were pulling out of the race, Farmer reports. The agreement that gives the Chargers a one-year window to decide on relocating to Inglewood had been discussed for more than six months.

Farmer also notes Panthers owner Jerry Richardson, who had been vocal about his support for the Carson project and helped attach Iger to it, was silent most of the day.

Here is some more on Los Angeles and the latest on the Western-stationed franchises.

  • With economists estimating the Chargers can expect three to five times more revenue in Los Angeles than in San Diego, a source tells Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune “at least 10 teams” would be lining up to take the joint-tenant deal in Inglewood if the Chargers wouldn’t. Acee also reports there’s talk of a bit more than the $100MM the NFL offered to help keep the Raiders and Chargers in their respective cities available to the Chargers if they were to make things work in San Diego. Spanos could leverage San Diego with the deal the Chargers would be in line to receive alongside the Rams if in fact San Diego is serious about keeping the franchise, Acee writes. But San Diego now will entertain the notion of bringing another team to the city.
  • Patriots president Jonathan Kraft said Kroenke will be spending between $3 billion and $3.5 billion to relocate the Rams, factoring in the $550MM relocation fee and the Rams’ new stadium (via Ben Volin of the Boston Globe, on Twitter).
  • Several members of the 49ers‘ staff from last season has reportedly packed up and moved their things out of the team’s facility, Matt Maiocco of CSNBayArea.com reports (on Twitter). Chip Kelly met with defensive coordinator Eric Mangini, per Maiocco, but the future of the San Francisco coaching staff is highly uncertain at this point. Kelly will meet with running backs coach Tom Rathman next week, Maiocco tweets. The former 49ers fullback’s been on the 49ers’ staff since 2009 and had to instruct one of the most injury-ravaged units in the NFL this season.
  • Former Eagles quarterbacks coach Ryan Day is under consideration for the job of 49ers offensive coordinator, ESPN reports (via Maiocco). A former New Hampshire player under Kelly, Day joined Kelly with the Eagles last season after being Boston College’s OC in 2013-14.
  • Both Eagles defensive line coaches, Jerry Azzinaro and Mike Dawson, are the most likely coaches to follow Kelly from Philadelphia, Maiocco reports. Azzinaro’s been Kelly’s D-line coach for the past seven seasons, doing so at Oregon from 2009-12 and with the Eagles since 2013.
  • Maiocco also reports (via Twitter) the 49ers could be considering Buccaneers tight ends coach Jon Embree for a spot on their staff if Dirk Koetter doesn’t retain him. The Colorado head coach in 2011-12, the 50-year-old Embree’s coached tight ends for the Chiefs, Washington, Browns and Bucs since 2006. He’s been with Tampa Bay since 2014.
  • A mutual interest in acquiring players with length and size could help Kelly and GM Trent Baalke work well together with the 49ers, the San Francisco Chronicle’s Eric Branch notes.
  • The Chiefs declared Jeremy Maclin active for today’s game against the Patriots, but their top wideout reportedly had trouble walking during the week of preparation, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com reports (on Twitter). Maclin did not practice this week due to the high-ankle sprain he suffered last Saturday against the Texans.

49ers To Hire Chip Kelly

January 15th, 2016 at 7:43am CST by Zachary Links

FRIDAY, 7:43am: Kelly’s deal will the 49ers will be worth $24MM over four years, reports Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (via Twitter).

THURSDAY, 12:35pm: After a lengthy search which included a number of high profile names, the 49ers found their man. The Niners have hired Chip Kelly as their new head coach, CEO Jed York announced. Chip Kelly

“After a thorough search, Trent & I are thrilled to announce Chip Kelly as the new #HeadCoach of the @49ers,” York tweeted on Thursday.

Kelly is a bold and interesting hire for San Francisco. The former Eagles head coach has long been said to be fond of quarterback Colin Kaepernick and Kelly’s ideal offense would feature a mobile signal caller like No. 7. After a disastrous 2015, Kaepernick’s future with San Francisco has been in question. Understudy Blaine Gabbert finished ’15 as the team’s starting QB. Now, it wouldn’t be surprising to see him once again as the focal point of the 49ers’ offense.

Kelly will have to comfortably co-exist with general manager Trent Baalke and York in San Francisco. Kelly’s departure from Philadelphia stemmed in part from him wearing out his welcome within the organization, having been at odds with former Eagles GM Howie Roseman. Baalke will in fact remain in charge of personnel, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets.

Kelly was fired last year at the end of his third season coaching the Eagles. During his three seasons as Eagles head coach, Kelly had a solid 26-21 record. However, after consecutive 10-6 seasons, the wheels came off a little this year, as the new-look roster, which was supposedly tailored to Kelly’s vision, struggled to produce on the field. Although Kelly only took over final say of Philadelphia’s roster moves from Roseman a year ago, he influenced the team’s moves before then as well, and many talented players left town after not always seeing eye to eye with the head coach. DeSean Jackson, LeSean McCoy, Jeremy Maclin, and Evan Mathis are a few of the players that have departed within the last couple years.

Kelly takes over a job that became available when the 49ers sacked Jim Tomsula earlier this month. The Tomsula-led Niners finished the 2015-16 campaign 5-11 (the franchise’s worst mark since 2007) and suffered nine losses by double-digit deficits. The 49ers will not have an introductory press conference with Kelly until next week, Matt Barrows of The Sacramento Bee tweets.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

49ers Expected To Choose Between Kelly, Shanahan

January 14th, 2016 at 11:50am CST by Zachary Links

The 49ers are expected to choose between Chip Kelly and Mike Shanahan as their next head coach, league sources tell Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (on Twitter). A decision is likely to come within the next 24 hours, he adds. Chip Kelly (vertical)

Kelly would be a bold and interesting hire for San Francisco. It doesn’t hurt that the former Eagles head coach has long been said to be fond of quarterback Colin Kaepernick. Kelly’s ideal offense would feature a mobile signal caller, and that’s exactly what No. 7 would provide. After a disastrous 2015, Kaepernick’s future with San Francisco has been in question. Understudy Blaine Gabbert finished ’15 as the team’s starting QB.

The Niners are said to like Shanahan because of the discipline and foundation he could bring to the organization, as well as his connection to the Bill Walsh era. Of course, if the 49ers do decide to hire Shanahan, it would raise some eyebrows, since the club could’ve brought him aboard a year ago, but elected to go with Jim Tomsula instead. Tomsula, of course, lasted only one year at the helm in San Francisco.

Shanahan has a lengthy coaching resume, having served as the head coach in Los Angeles (1988-89), Denver (1995-2008), and Washington (2010-2013). Although he has a 170-138 regular season record overall, and has won a pair of Super Bowls, Shanahan produced a mixed bag of results during his most recent head coaching stint. Washington was 24-40 during his four years with the franchise, with just one winning season.

If things really are down to Shanahan and Kelly, then it’s not clear where this leaves Tom Coughlin in his employment search. Coughlin was said to be a strong candidate for SF and was said to be on his way to a deal with the Eagles. However, Coughlin has since withdrawn his name from consideration in Philly. If Coughlin isn’t going to land in Philadelphia or San Francisco as a head coach in 2016, it’s fair to wonder if he’ll get an NFL head coaching job at all.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

49ers Meeting With John DeFilippo

January 9th, 2016 at 7:38pm CST by Luke Adams

SATURDAY, 7:38pm: The 49ers did interview DeFilippo, but they view him as a candidate for their offensive coordinator job more than their vacant head coaching position, Tim Kawakami of the San Jose Mercury News reports (Twitter link).

FRIDAY, 10:18am: After having interviewed former Eagles head coach Chip Kelly and Bills assistant HC Anthony Lynn, the 49ers are meeting today with Browns offensive coordinator John DeFilippo, reports Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (via Twitter). According to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (via Twitter), today’s sit-down between the DeFilippo and the Niners is more of an “informational” meeting, rather than a formal interview.John DeFilippo

[RELATED: 49ers meet with Chip Kelly, Anthony Lynn]

DeFilippo, in his first year as the Browns’ offensive coordinator, has also drawn interest from the Rams for St. Louis’ OC position, even though he didn’t exactly work miracles in Cleveland. The Browns’ offense finishing 25th in the NFL in yards per game (331.9) and 30th in points per game (17.4).

Still, given the players he had to work with, it may have taken a miracle for DeFilippo to produce above-average results. The Browns started three different quarterbacks – Josh McCown, Johnny Manziel, and Austin Davis – and saw free agent signee Dwayne Bowe, who received a $9MM guarantee, catch just five balls. The team was also missing top wideout Josh Gordon, who was suspended for the year.

As for the 49ers, Rapoport describes their mutual interest with Kelly as “very real” (Twitter link), while Matt Barrows of the Sacramento Bee (Twitter link) hears that Kelly is a big fan of Colin Kaepernick. That may work in Kelly’s favor as the Niners consider their head coaching options, but as Matt Maiocco of CSNBayArea.com writes, several other candidates for the job would be excited about working with Kaepernick, or have had interest in him in the past.

Be sure to check out PFR’s head coaching search tracker for the latest on San Francisco’s hunt for Jim Tomsula‘s replacement, as well as updates on the other six openings around the NFL.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Breer’s Latest: Cousins, Bucs, L.A., Titans

January 8th, 2016 at 2:52pm CST by Luke Adams

In his latest notes column for NFL.com, Albert Breer of the NFL Network takes a closer look at the group of top quarterbacks in the 2016 draft class, before exploring several other noteworthy topics from around the NFL. Let’s dive in and round up the highlights….

  • Washington continues to plan on having Kirk Cousins back next season, as has been previously reported. Sources tell Breer that the team wants to lock up Cousins to a long-term contract before the deadline to apply franchise or transition tags to players. But if the two sides can’t work something out by then, Washington is “fully prepared” to franchise its quarterback.
  • Having worked in Arizona and observed the relationship between Steve Keim and Bruce Arians, Buccaneers GM Jason Licht would like to create a similar dynamic in Tampa Bay. Licht wants to hire a head coach who “he can challenge and be challenged by, without anyone getting offended.” The ideal candidate for the Bucs would also “instill toughness” and “set a culture,” and those are considered more important factors than whether a coach is offensive- or defensive-minded, according to Breer.
  • At this point, among the NFL’s team owners, there are two distinct camps when it comes to the Los Angeles relocation proposals — one camp is focused on the projects, and favors the Rams‘ proposal, while the other camp is focused on the owners and teams involved, and favors the Chargers‘ and Raiders‘ Carson plan. Neither side has the necessary votes, and it won’t be easy to obtain them, says Breer.
  • There’s concern within the Titans organization about how often their quarterbacks – particularly Marcus Mariota – have been hit and injured over the last couple seasons. Breer suggests that could be a factor that makes the team shy away from hiring Chip Kelly, since his quarterbacks in Philadelphia were frequently injured as well. Of course, one could argue that those injuries were the result of bad luck and/or poor offensive line play, rather than being coaching-related, but Michael Vick and Nick Foles both went down while playing behind solid lines for the Eagles.
  • The Browns‘ head coaching job certainly isn’t considered the most desirable one among the seven that are currently available, but coaches consider it significant to have a direct line to a team’s owner, and Cleveland’s next coach will report directly to Jimmy Haslam, Breer observes.

49ers Meet With Chip Kelly, Anthony Lynn

January 7th, 2016 at 10:41pm CST by Luke Adams

The 49ers’ head coaching search is underway, according to Matt Maiocco of CSNBayArea.com, who reports (via Twitter) that the team has interviewed Bills assistant head coach and running backs coach Anthony Lynn about the position. Maiocco adds (via Twitter) that the Niners have also met with former Eagles coach Chip Kelly to discuss the job.Chip Kelly

Based on Maiocco’s wording, it’s not clear if San Francisco conducted a formal interview with Kelly for the team’s head coaching vacancy. But either way, it appears there’s some mutual interest between the two sides. Kelly reportedly reached out to the Niners earlier this week to express interest in the job, while Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com tweets that the club begin considering Kelly before officially parting ways with Jim Tomsula.

[RELATED: 49ers to interview Mike Shanahan]

There has been some speculation that Kelly would be a good fit in San Francisco to help Colin Kaepernick bounce back, based on his past success with mobile quarterbacks. Of course, if the Niners were to seriously pursue the ex-Eagles head coach, the club would have to confident he could comfortably co-exist with general manager Trent Baalke and CEO Jed York. Kelly’s departure from Philadelphia stemmed in part from him wearing out his welcome within the organization, having been at odds with former Eagles GM Howie Roseman.

As for Lynn, the Niners’ job is one of two head coaching positions he has interviewed for this week. The Buffalo assistant also spoke to the Dolphins about their head coaching job.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Coach Rumors: Dolphins, Browns, Kelly

January 4th, 2016 at 12:49pm CST by Luke Adams

A previous report indicated that the Dolphins spoke to Mike Shanahan a couple weeks ago about their head coaching opening, but Mike Tannenbaum said today that the team hasn’t conducted any interviews yet, so it sounds like that December conversation with Shanahan was an informal one (Twitter link via Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald). The team will interview Shanahan tomorrow, however.

Addressing the media today, Tannenbaum also said that Dolphins owner Stephen Ross will make the final decision on who the club’s next head coach will be. That new coach will have input on the roster, but it’s not yet decided who will have control over the 53-man squad (Twitter links via Adam Beasley of the Miami Herald).

Here are a few more coaching-related updates on Black Monday:

  • Former Lions head coach and Bills defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz is on the Browns‘ list of head coaching candidates, according to Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com (Twitter link). Cleveland has reportedly lined up interviews with Adam Gase, Teryl Austin, and Doug Marrone so far.
  • Thus far, we’ve heard more reports about Chip Kelly being interested in certain head coaching jobs than about teams being interested in Kelly. That may not be an accident. Jason Cole of Bleacher Report (video link) suggests NFL owners are wary of Kelly, and concerned that his dealings with players may work better at the college level than the professional level.
  • Panthers offensive coordinator Mike Shula doesn’t want to interview for any head coaching jobs until after Carolina’s season is over, but defensive coordinator Sean McDermott said today that he’d be open to meeting with interested teams during the Panthers’ bye week (link via David Newton of ESPN.com). McDermott has been cited as a potential candidate for the Eagles.

Chip Kelly, Mike Shanahan Interested In 49ers’ Job

January 4th, 2016 at 7:40am CST by Luke Adams

Former Eagles head coach Chip Kelly has reached out to the 49ers to express interest in San Francisco’s head coaching job, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (via Twitter), and Kelly is far from the only former NFL head coach interested in the position. Per Michael Silver of NFL.com, former Denver and Washington coach Mike Shanahan has also conveyed interest in the job, after interviewing a year ago for the opening.

While it remains to be seen how strongly Kelly’s and Shanahan’s interest in Jim Tomsula‘s old post is reciprocated by the 49ers, it certainly appears as if the team will have no shortage of candidates interested in the role. Former Packers and Seahawks head coach Mike Holmgren has also reportedly reached out to San Francisco to let the club know he has interest in the job.

There may be some concern that Shanahan, 63, and Holmgren, 67, could be past their coaching primes, so Kelly could be the most intriguing name of the bunch for the Niners’ decision-makers. A mobile quarterback like Colin Kaepernick could have bounce-back potential under Kelly, who has a strong relationship with 49ers executive Tom Gamble, as Albert Breer of the NFL Network tweets.

In addition to Kelly, Shanahan, and Holmgren, Bengals offensive coordinator Hue Jackson and Saints head coach Sean Payton have been cited as options for the 49ers, though those two men will be more difficult to interview, with Jackson’s club alive and well in the playoffs, and Payton still under contract with New Orleans.

Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link) hears that the Saints will likely want a second-round pick to part ways with Payton, which may deter potential suitors like San Francisco. However, Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com (Twitter link) wouldn’t be surprised if the Saints coach is ultimately dealt for a mid-rounder, since he wouldn’t want his new club to give up much.

So far, it doesn’t appear the 49ers have scheduled any formal interviews as they search for Tomsula’s replacement, but that figures to change very soon.

49ers Fire Jim Tomsula

January 3rd, 2016 at 9:00pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

The 49ers have fired head coach Jim Tomsula after one year on the job, according to team CEO Jed York, who issued a statement Sunday night (link via the club’s website):

“Jimmy has been a valuable member of the 49ers organization for the last nine years. We all know he is a man of high NFL: St. Louis Rams at San Francisco 49erscharacter, and his contributions on the field and in our community have always been greatly appreciated. This entire organization is proud and grateful to have worked so closely alongside Jimmy. We all wish him and his family great success in the future.”

Last offseason, after interviewing a slew of candidates to replace the departed Jim Harbaugh, San Francisco elected to promote Tomsula – its defensive line coach from 2007-14 – signing him to a four-year, $14MM contract ($10.5MM of which still has to be paid out). However, the Tomsula era didn’t go nearly as well as Harbaugh’s reign, which included a 44-19-1 regular-season record and three playoff appearances in four years. The Tomsula-led Niners finished the 2015-16 campaign 5-11 (the franchise’s worst mark since 2007) and suffered nine losses by double-digit deficits. They defeated the NFC West rival Rams, 19-16, to snap a three-game losing streak on Sunday, but it obviously wasn’t enough to save Tomsula.

As the 49ers begin searching for the 20th head coach in their history, one possibility general manager Trent Baalke could look to is Chip Kelly, according to both CBS Sports’ Jason La Canfora (Twitter link) and Fox Sports’ Mike Garafolo (on Twitter). Another is the Saints’ Sean Payton, tweets Ian Rapoport of NFL.com. Both Kelly and Payton are offensive minds, which the 49ers are seeking, Matt Maiocco of CSNBayArea.com reports. In addition to Kelly and Payton, Maiocco names Bengals offensive coordinator Hue Jackson as someone who could be on the 49ers’ radar. Whether the team’s next head coach is Kelly, Payton, Jackson or someone else, he’ll have the freedom to keep or fire any of its current assistant coaches, per Maiocco (Twitter link).

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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