49ers CEO Jed York yesterday vowed to find replacements for fired coach Chip Kelly and GM Trent Baalke "worthy of ending the franchise’s 22-year Lombardi Trophy drought," according to Cam Inman of the SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS. York spoke for 27 minutes in a "contrite tone" and channeled the "frustration of his fan base." He said that the impending hires are "ultimately his call." York at one point was "asked why he wasn’t being dismissed." He replied, “I own this football team. You don’t dismiss owners. I’m sorry that that’s the facts and that’s the case, but that’s the facts. I’m going to do everything I can to get this right. This isn’t about a business and running an operation to make money. We’re making sure we’re doing everything we can to re-establish this culture.” Inman notes the search for replacements is "already underway, and York will conduct interviews alongside his long-time confidant," 49ers Chief Strategy Officer & Exec VP/Football Operations Paraag Marathe. York said that Baalke was "defensive minded, Kelly was an offensive mind and, 'the marriage didn’t work, and I probably should have seen it.'” York: "I’m not doing this so we can get to 8-8, to get to 9-7 and say, ‘See, we turned it around. We’re good.’ My ultimate goal is to win a championship, win multiple championships, and that’s the foundation that we need to lay and that’s what we need to build for" (SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS, 1/3). York: "The most important thing is having the head coach and the general manager working together, battling for each other and being on the same page. That’s paramount" (SACRAMENTO BEE, 1/3). York, who noted his uncle, former 49ers Owner Eddie DeBartolo Jr., continues to be an advisor, said, "I'm embarrassed where we are now" (CSNBAYAREA.com, 1/2). York on Sunday said, "It’s time for us to re-establish a championship culture. In order to do that, I thought we had to clean house” (MMQB.SI.com, 1/2).
BROKEN RECORD? In San Jose, Daniel Brown writes under the header, "49ers Jed York Sounds Like Broken Record While Talking About Broken Franchise" (SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS, 1/3). Also in San Jose, Tim Kawakami writes York is the "last guy who should believe he has it all figured out, fire people to prove he has it all figured out." York is the "common denominator in every 49ers failure for a decade," as he has "overseen the demolition as the 49ers as a competitive team and NFL brand name." York has it "all figured out because there’s nobody in that building who will dare tell him otherwise," and he is "going to keep it that way." Kawakami: "The Yorks won’t be hiring a veteran executive to oversee all football operations because, well, that role is forever taken by Jed York, can’t you see?" (SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS, 1/3). ESPN’s Herm Edwards noted York has "struck out three times already" hiring a coach and GM. If he "doesn’t get it right this time, he needs to fire himself” ("NFL Live," ESPN2, 1/2). In San Jose, Mark Purdy in a front-page piece notes York "believes he’s the sole guy who can pick the general manager and implement a turnaround." He also said that the "only way to convince people of this is by winning." Purdy: "I’m not certain exactly how York can reconnect with disgruntled fans at this point. But giving season ticket holders/seat license holders some sort of monetary break would be a start. Making himself more frequently available to the public ... would also be a good idea." That way, fans "might find it easier to believe how much he cares about winning and losing" (SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS, 1/3).
JUDGE & JURY: CSNBAYAREA.com's Ray Ratto wrote York "fancies himself a better judge of employees than he has the evidence to prove, so there is no compelling reason for the quiver of excitement to overtake the fan base." He "isn’t even good at explaining what he intends to do, why he intends to do it or even what methodology he would employ." York is "good at several things -- making a stadium turn into an ATM machine, avoiding the public, firing people and paying coaches not to work for him" (CSNBAYAREA.com, 1/1). SI.com's Melissa Jacobs wrote the 49ers organization, once known for "class and collecting Super Bowl rings, has become the laughing stock of the NFL." Jacobs: "What talented, in-demand GM candidate is going to put Jed York’s 49ers near the top of the list? What coaching candidate isn’t going to be spooked by the fact that the two predecessors were canned after just one year?" (SI.com, 1/1).
DYSFUNCTION JUNCTION: The MERCURY NEWS' Kawakami noted the Yorks once again "muffed the delivery" of their decision by "leaking the firings on Saturday night without first telling Kelly, then declining to formally give him word" until after Sunday’s loss to the Seahawks. Kawakami: "How is this team going to be any different if their owners continue to act like children?" But Kelly said, "That stuff doesn't bother me" (SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS, 1/2). In S.F., Ann Killion wrote the firings being leaked before Sunday's game is "pure dysfunction." It is the "same old stale 49ers garbage," and York apparently "still hasn’t learned from his considerable, monumental mistakes" (S.F. CHRONICLE, 1/2). Kelly following Sunday's game said that he "didn’t know anything about his own widely reported firing" because York had not "mentioned anything about it during a Saturday night phone conversation between the two men." The MERCURY NEWS' Purdy noted Baalke "must have received a very healthy severance and contract settlement." Kelly is also owed more than $10M on his deal, and the 49ers "still are paying" former coach Jim Tomsula. Purdy: "You can’t accuse the Yorks of being afraid to eat up their large Levi’s profits in pursuit of better things" (SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS, 1/2).
CHIP OFF THE OLD BLOCK: ESPN.com's Seth Wickersham wrote following Kelly's firing, a "massive chunk of the football world gloated, as if he got his due." Wickersham: "Maybe he did. More than any other coach, he was always a man alone." He "never had a coaching tree," and he "never won a championship." He "alienated the entire building with the Eagles," and he "never assembled a first-rate NFL coaching staff." But the fact is that Kelly "did change the NFL," evidenced by "all the sports-science specialists with teams after Kelly introduced them" (ESPN.com, 1/2).
