Chip Kelly hired as San Francisco 49ers’ head coach

There are theories but little hard evidence to indicate why the Philadelphia Eagles fired new 49ers coach Chip Kelly three seasons into a five-year contract.

Prior to becoming a head coach in the NFL, Kelly had a highly successful career at the college level starting at the University of New Hampshire and then moving over to the University of Oregon.

Kelly will replace former head coach Jim Tomsula, who the 49ers released after just one year following a disappointing 5-11 season. “I had an interesting conversation a few weeks ago with a number of the Niners” front office who I happened to run into at a luncheon who asked, “You think Kap has anything left?’ And I said, “You know what, I’d love to see him running Chip Kelly’s offense in Philadelphia.’ This was before Chip was sacked by the Eagles”.

“Guess I might have to start running right now to get in shape”, wide receiver Torrey Smith posted on Twitter shortly after the announcement.

“He has said time and again to me and to many others in this business that he does not want to be the general manager, he does not want to control personnel”. The team only won six games before he was sacked prior to week 17. He took his style to the Eagles, where he had two 10-win seasons, going to the postseason in his first season. One of the reasons the 49ers management parted with former coach Jim Harbaugh after 2014 was because they clashed personally and philosophically.

In all the debates about the 49ers hiring Chip Kelly, one thing stands out the most: What will Kelly and the team do with would-be franchise quarterback Colin Kaepernick? Bradford finished the season ranked 26th in passer rating, one spot ahead of Blaine Gabbert. It’s clear that Kelly has always been a fan of Kaepernick and Kaepernick had long been a rumored target for the Eagles in Philadelphia when Kelly was the coach there.

Deciding on the quarterback will be a major decision for Kelly in the coming months.