Another season of 49ers football has come to end, and another coach has been fired. That’s three coaches in the last three years. That is not good, and it is how bad teams stay bad. However, it is not a huge surprise. The San Francisco 49ers had to make sweeping changes and sweeping changes they made.
It was leaked on New Year’s Eve that both GM Trent Baalke and head coach Chip Kelly would be fired. Today, Baalke confirmed that he had already been let go, but Kelly had not been told anything, other than he would be meeting with CEO Jed York after the game.
“I was just called last night,” said Kelly after the game and before his meeting with York. “I heard the same reports and Jed just talked to me briefly and said that we would talk today.”
It should be noted that Kelly was nothing but a class act throughout his press conference, even going so far as to thank the press that covered him week after week.
“I will say this, I do appreciate you guys,” said Kelly. “I thought my first year here with the guys that I got to work with every day, Matt [Barrows], Matt [Maiocco], the whole guys, [San Jose Mercury News reporter] Cam [Inman], Eric [Branch], the rest of the group here. The guys who were here every day, [NinersWire.com reporter] Chris [Biderman], it was awesome. I really appreciate you guys. I thought you were really professional and I enjoyed it. So, thank you.”
Is it a shock that Kelly was let go? No. The team ends the season 2-14 and most general managers want to pick their own coach. Do I think it’s fair that he was given one season? Also no. He inherited a terrible roster, and he should have been given another year.
“I don’t think anything surprises me,” said Kelly. “…I live my life in vision not circumstances. I control what I can control. What we can control is how we coach our players and what we did with them. If that’s good enough, that’s good enough. If it’s not good enough, so be it. I’m proud of the way our guys played today.”
Kelly also said there were a lot of hugs in the locker room after the game. These guys like Chip and they liked playing for him.
“I appreciate Chip and what he does on a daily basis regardless of the circumstances,” said quarterback Colin Kaepernick. “I make sure I go over, I give him a hug before every game. And to me, he’s someone that, the resilience he’s shown with the circumstances that have gone on this year, I appreciate that.”
Rookie DeForest Buckner, who also played for Kelly at the University of Oregon, agreed.
“We never stopped fighting,” said Buckner. “Even though the way the season went, nobody gave up on Chip. It’s the respect that we all gave him. Over the season, everybody believed in him and we just never quit.”
I get it. It’s a business and it’s a business of winning football games. But it’s how matters are handled in the organization that are the concern. Those pesky leaks that come out of Levi’s Stadium are ruining this team more than any GM or coach or roster. Those pesky leaks are indicative of a lack of maturity and a lack of understanding of how to run a football team.
It started with the Jim Harbaugh rumors way back in February 2014 and they continued throughout that season. The Michigan girl in me loves Harbaugh, but he’s not a sympathetic figure. Somehow, the 49ers made him one.
It continued with the negative reports about Kaepernick last season. And it continued with the leaks last night.
So here we are again. San Francisco’s season ended today and it ended with the head coach losing his job for the third year in a row. Next season, the Niners will see their fourth head coach in as many years. Again, this is how bad teams stay bad. Tomorrow, we will hear from York. Maybe, just maybe, he has a plan to stop the madness, but first, he really has to stop the madness.
Oh, the Niners played the Seahawks today. They lost. Once again, the football got lost in the drama. Go Niners.