San Francisco 49ers

Gamble helps pay off for Kelly in 49ers' decision to hire him

Published Jan. 15, 2016 12:10 p.m. ET

foxsports

Chip Kelly was shown the door being he was allowed to complete his third season with the Philadelphia Eagles, but his ties to the organization helped paved the way for his hiring by the San Francisco 49ers.

Tom Gamble, who returned to the 49ers in January 2015 after spending two seasons in Philadelphia's front office, was instrumental in helping to bring Kelly to San Francisco, according to CSNBayArea.com.

The primary input from Gamble, a senior personnel executive, was convincing the 49ers' brass that Kelly was not demanding total control over all personnel decisions, as had been reported by multiple media outlets.

“Chip is not power hungry,” a source told the website. “All that was misrepresented in Philadelphia. He was not the only one to have problems there.”

Gamble left the 49ers to become the Eagles' vice president of player personnel in October 2013 and was with the team for two seasons before he was dismissed, leading to his return to the Bay Area.