The 49ers on Thursday officially hired Chip Kelly to fill their head coaching vacancy, a move that was "hailed by a front office eager to get it right after whiffing" on Jim Tomsula last year, according to Eric Branch of the S.F. CHRONICLE. 49ers GM Trent Baalke a statement "noted Kelly’s creativity, passion and drive." Team CEO Jed York said he believes Kelly is "the right man to get this team competing for championships." Branch notes Kelly reportedly "has a good relationship" with 49ers Senior Personnel Exec Tom Gamble, who "was in the Eagles’ front office during Kelly’s first two seasons." In addition, since being fired from the Eagles, Kelly has said that he "has no desire to have personnel control." That arrangement "could limit future friction with Baalke" (S.F. CHRONICLE, 1/15). ESPN's Adam Schefter noted everybody "needs a champion, and it’s very clear here that Tom Gamble probably championed Chip Kelly’s candidacy." He said of the 49ers, "They needed some legitimacy, they needed somebody who had experience, somebody who’s done this job before, somebody with name recognition. They needed an anti-Jim Tomsula" ("NFL Insiders," ESPN, 1/14). CSNBayArea.com's Matt Maiocco noted Gamble's presence is the "reason" Kelly is with the 49ers. Maiocco: "Tom Gamble is able to go to Jed York and go to Trent Baalke and say, ‘Look, the problems that Chip had with the Philadelphia Eagles aren’t anything new because Tom Heckert had those problems, Jason Licht had those problems, Andy Reid had those problems, I had these problems.’ So I think that hearing that from Tom Gamble carried all kinds of weight” ("Sports Talk Live," CSN Bay Area, 1/14).
POWER STATION: ESPN.com's Paul Gutierrez wrote it "should be interesting to see how Kelly, who wanted a big say in personnel control in Philadelphia, interacts with Baalke, who, despite saying there is no iron fist in the organization, has a reputation as a personnel hard-liner" (ESPN.com, 1/14). In S.F., Ann Killion in a front-page piece writes how "Type A Baalke and Type A Kelly coexist will be fascinating." Killion: "Is a coach who had full power three weeks ago now willing to be a 'yes' man, eager to do Baalke’s bidding?" It seems like a partnership "set up for conflict" (S.F. CHRONICLE, 1/15). ESPN's Steve Young said, “The thing I worry about most is that Chip Kelly is a very strong personality. Trent Baalke, general manager, gives nothing to the coach. That was most of the problem they had with Jim Harbaugh. You’ve got a very strong personality, how does that get worked out?” (“NFL Live,” ESPN, 1/14). In N.Y., Justin Terranova writes bringing in Kelly was "a surprise considering it appeared Baalke was on a mission to hire the most qualified candidate who would not threaten him" (N.Y. POST, 1/15). But Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio said, "If I was Trent Baalke, I’d be concerned. If Chip Kelly has success year one, year two, he may try to make a power play” (“PFT,” NBCSN, 1/14).
NEW YORK STATE OF MIND: YAHOO SPORTS' Dan Wetzel wrote York "will, undoubtedly, get mocked for firing one quirky and challenging figure" in Jim Harbaugh only to "replace him with a guy with perhaps a similar demeanor but less on-field accomplishment." Wetzel: "Maybe it should be looked at as a positive though, that a lesson was learned and thus York wasn't afraid of the predictable backlash." He really does "just want to win, which he often states to the extreme." Wetzel: "Maybe he surveyed a fairly weak coaching market with too many teams plucking through it and decided to gamble on coaching upside and talent rather than office comity" (SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 1/14). In Sacramento, Ailene Voisin writes York showed he has a "spine" by hiring Kelly, as he "dispensed with the warm-and-fuzzies and went with the most innovative, controversial and demanding candidate interviewed." Ultimately, York "went with the choice that is both risky and logical" (SACRAMENTO BEE, 1/15). CSN Bay Area’s Dennis Brown said York knew he "had to bring something in big." Brown: "He couldn’t bring in Joe Bag o’ Donuts; had to be somebody big, an exciting guy.” KGMZ-FM’s John Middlekauff: “Jed’s swinging for the fences. I do give him credit for taking a swing” ("Sports Talk Live," CSN Bay Area, 1/14). In San Jose, Tim Kawakami writes hiring Kelly is York's "first and loudest admission of complete failure and his shot at trying to do tangible things to actually succeed." Kelly will "rise or fall on his own, which is the way he likes it." But the "subtext of this hiring is that York, for once, is tacitly acknowledging how much he failed this franchise and how much of it needs immediate retraction" (SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS, 1/15).
HIS REPUTATION PRECEDES HIM: USA TODAY's Tom Pelissero writes Kelly "can’t remain deaf to his locker room" and "can’t exile his best players." Furthermore, he "can’t seek to boost his own power by marginalizing others." But his "missteps in Philly don't erase the reality that he's a brilliant, innovative coach" (USA TODAY, 1/15). NFL Network's Heath Evans said the hire is “foolish, insane, asinine, backwards." Evans: "I have no clue what Trent Baalke and Jed York were thinking” ("NFL Total Access," NFL Network, 1/14).
