December 11, 2016; Santa Clara, CA, USA; San Francisco 49ers head coach Chip Kelly looks on during the fourth quarter against the New York Jets at Levi
The San Francisco 49ers were a once-proud franchise, but are being dragged through the mud by head coach Chip Kelly, warranting his dismissal.
Few head coaches survive the kind of abysmal record Chip Kelly is compiling in his first season with the San Francisco 49ers. The mismanagement the head coach has displayed, coupled with the poor results, make it easy to cast blame on Kelly.
After burning out with the Philadelphia Eagles—ruining the roster there in the process—and continuing poor showings with the 49ers one season later, it’s fair for fans of one of the NFL’s most storied franchises to wonder if it’s time to move on. One and done for Kelly may not be as farfetched as it first appears. Plenty of coaches get the same treatment, though they often aren’t big names like Kelly.
However, the case can be made as to why Kelly should be on his way out following the disastrous one-win season (through 14 games) that Niners fans have been forced to sit through. It will be a painful experience for those in the Bay Area, but it’s a process that many franchises are forced to work through over time.
Hopefully the 49ers make the right move and don’t let the disaster continue further than this season, making the wise decision to cut bait quickly. If not, it’s possible the Niners could end up like the unfortunate Jacksonville Jaguars, slowly waiting for things to turn around, but never seeing results. Then, four seasons later, that dismissal becomes an anticlimactic event.
These are five of the reasons Chip Kelly should be fired as head coach of the 49ers.
Nov 27, 2016; Miami Gardens, FL, USA; San Francisco 49ers head coach Chip Kelly looks on during the second half against San Francisco 49ers at Hard Rock Stadium. The Dolphins won 31-24. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports
5. Franchise-Worst Record
Unfortunately for the San Francisco 49ers, it is entirely possible that Chip Kelly will leave his name in the franchise record books. Sadly, that record may be for fewest wins in a season.
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San Francisco has a storied history with legendary seasons and some mixed results in between. It’s rare for the team do win just a couple of games, even in the doldrums of the mid 2000s when a 2-14 season and 4-12 season were seen back-to-back in 2004 and 2005. The complete implosion of 2015 still raked in five wins. Just ask former head coach Jim Tomsula how that one year worked out for him.
No coach has ever led the Niners to worse than 2-14. Few of the coaches dating back to 1944 have ever been allowed to continue coaching when falling so low. But, as Doug Williams of NBC Bay Area writes, the Niners are in danger of posting an even worse record. A 1-15 mark is a real possibility, something that has only ever been done by nine other teams, ever.
Week 16 against the Los Angeles Rams may be Kelly’s final shot at redemption, but even that game isn’t going to be easy. The Rams may be bad, but they aren’t a complete pushover.
The following Week 17 matchup will be much harder to win. Even if the Seattle Seahawks wanted to rest their starters as the playoffs are imminent, it wouldn’t be surprising if the 49ers couldn’t make a dent against that vaunted defense. 1-15 is more than enough of a reason to warrant dismissal. Nobody wants to endure more of that.
November 20, 2016; Santa Clara, CA, USA; San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick (7) passes the football against New England Patriots defensive tackle Alan Branch (97) during the fourth quarter at Levi
4. Poor Play-Calling
One of the most prideful coaches in the NFL, Chip Kelly has a system that he thinks is superior. He thinks that he can work the same kind of magic he used in the college ranks at the NFL level. At first it was a gimmicky approach that appeared to be working in Philadelphia. The Eagles looked sharp, fresh, and new and were taking it to opponents back in 2013. But that couldn’t last long and the wheels inevitably fell off as NFL defenses adapted and took advantage of Kelly’s offense’s weaknesses.
Unfortunately, Kelly’s system’s crumbling has also shaken the head coach. He is no longer the confident play-caller he once was, admitting openly that he has opted to be too conservative at times (including in an overtime loss to the New York Jets, per the Mercury News), adding a wrinkle of inconsistency to his tenure as head coach.
With a coach whose confidence is shaken and whose play calling is no longer consistent, it’s no wonder the 49ers aren’t able to display any sense of identity or truly remain competitive. Kelly’s play calling is no longer an appealing gimmick as a result. In fact, he and his offensive “guru” status have started to become a liability. A league-worst passing attack and a 29th ranked overall offense is a testament to this. The 13-straight losses following Week 1 are also a good indication.
November 20, 2016; Santa Clara, CA, USA; San Francisco 49ers head coach Chip Kelly instructs during the first quarter against the New England Patriots at Levi
3. Full of Excuses With No Answers
Head coaches that can’t own up to their mistakes are the bane of the NFL. The buck stops at the head coach and at the end of the day the play on the field is a direct byproduct of the work put in by the head coach and his staff. Coaches have to own that. They have to own their records and they have to be willing to take the fall for any little problem, no matter how silly it may be.
Instead, Chip Kelly grasps at excuses. This is nothing new for those who have followed the head coach in his NFL career, including his time with the Philadelphia Eagles. It permeates throughout the team, including when Eagles wide receiver Josh Huff claimed the Dallas Cowboys knew the Eagles’ plays before the ball was snapped.
That kind of excuse-making has continued with the San Francisco 49ers. The worst may have been blaming the weather as a game against the New England Patriots went from rainy to less-rainy and the passing games of the respective teams could take off. No surprise there as Tom Brady could out-shoot anybody taking snaps for San Fran.
Sometimes it seems like Kelly says the right things, talking about just needing to get better and simply focusing on the little things and getting them done right. But it rings hollow in fans’ ears. Kelly is saying these things week in and week out with the occasional excuse escaping, but then doesn’t follow it up with answer on the field. Fans can’t endure that kind of disingenuous double-speak much longer. The results speak for themselves and, to this point, Kelly has no solutions.
Sep 10, 2015; San Francisco, CA, USA; Vince Lombardi Trophies from San Francisco 49ers Super Bowl victories on display at Justin Herman Plaza. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports
2. 49ers Legacy At Risk
When Chip Kelly took the job as the head coach of the San Francisco 49ers, he talked about how the history of Lombardi trophies drew him to the team. He talked about the past success of an organization that so rarely fails.
In fact, he waxed poetically about the organization as he signed on, saying (per 49ers.com):
It’s really humbling to stand here as the 19th head coach of the San Francisco 49ers, to me, the preeminent organization in the National Football League. There’s a statement I always thought about: ‘We can see farther today because of the shoulders we stand on of the people that came before us.
Those shoulders can barely support the weight of Kelly and his struggling 2016 49ers. That foundation is strong because the correct moves were made by ownership and management to put the right coach in the right situation consistently. With Kelly in charge, that foundation may begin to tremble or even crack.
There is something to be said about legacy. There are some organizations that have a strong legacy and others that don’t. Those that do would do well to protect it, jealously guarding who gets through the gates to lead the team. Not any person has a chance to do so.
Kelly was a sexy pick among some depressingly uninspiring options (think Jim Tomsula the year before), but he isn’t the kind of legacy head coach that a franchise of San Fran’s importance needs. He’s shown he can mismanage another storied franchise in the past and his current record doesn’t show he’s getting the 49ers back on the right track to this point.
If the 49ers want more Lombardi trophies, Kelly isn’t helping them. Rebounding from such a miserable first season may be near-impossible. There are only so many Bill Walsh‘s in the world and Kelly doesn’t appear to be the same caliber of coach.
“When you go in the lobby and see the five Super Bowl trophies, you understand what this organization is all about,” Kelly said when he joined. The franchise has never been further from another Super Bowl trophy than they are right now.
Sep 18, 2016; Charlotte, NC, USA; San Francisco 49ers head coach Chip Kelly talks to quarterback Blaine Gabbert (2) in the fourth quarter. The Panthers defeated the 49ers 46-27 at Bank of America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports
1. Results Speak for Themselves
There is one feather in Chip Kelly’s cap in 2016 and that’s the run game. Currently ranked fourth in yards and averaging an impressive 4.7 yards per attempt (also fourth in the NFL), Kelly can point to the run game as a reason he should stay as head coach. As Tim Kawakami of the Mercury News points out, that “percolating offense” is his best chance at saving his job. It’s just far too little and not important enough at this point. The other statistics just weigh it down further.
Heading into Week 16, the San Francisco 49ers have the league’s worst passing attack, the 29th ranked total offense (the run game helps, but not much). On the other side of the ball, the pass defense is 18th in the NFL (but they defend against the third-fewest attempts) and the run defense is downright terrible, ranking dead last as they let opponents rack of five yards per carry (also last in the league).
In short, the offense isn’t good enough to keep games close while the opposition runs of yardage and eats clock by decimating the opposition with the run game. That’s a recipe for disaster and key reason the Niners have 13-straight losses this season. The only win of the season, in Week 1 against the Los Angeles Rams, unsurprisingly came in part because the Rams are the second-worst running team in the NFL.
It is hard to justify keeping a coach around who is being so incredibly bullied by his peers. It is hard to justify keeping a coach around when there are so few bright spots to point to in a season. Facts are stubborn things and, to this point, the statistics lay down the cold hard truth that Kelly isn’t doing enough to justify sticking around. In the NFL you win or you’re out. Kelly hasn’t done the former and deserves to be turned out now.
