San Francisco 49ers: Chip Kelly, Colin Kaepernick’s Final Shots in NFL?

The San Francisco 49ers coaching hire puts Chip Kelly and Colin Kaepernick on the clock in second chances.

The San Francisco 49ers have either made a brilliant hire or a colossal mistake in appointing Chip Kelly as head coach. There’s no in between with a brilliant football mind, who must coexist with a general manager carrying an ego the size of Texas.

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When news broke about Kelly taking over as the 49ers head coach, two things came to mind: star power and offensive reform. Sounds good right?

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The 49ers front office tried the homegrown route, upgrading defensive line coach Jim Tomsula to head coach after firing a successful head coach in Jim Harbaugh—more on him later.

Tomsula’s ascension coincided with high roster turnover. Playmakers on both sides of the ball left San Francisco. Defensive linemen Patrick Willis, Chris Borland and Justin Smith called it quits after the 2014 season. Wide receiver Michael Crabtree and running back Frank Gore chose to seek greener pastures. That’s not Tomsula’s fault.

However, the 49ers needed someone willing to take on a reclamation project. Who better to hire than the man who flipped the Philadelphia Eagles upside down over the past three seasons to make it his roster?

Tomsula had to go because a better candidate fit the job.

NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reports Kelly won’t have control over personnel, which allows general manager Trent Baalke to do the grocery shopping. Nonetheless, Kelly’s reformation attitude makes him the man to fix roster pieces or turn Baalke’s ingredients into the finest gumbo:

For the 49ers, hiring Kelly is the right choice. Baalke can maintain control as a proven general manager in the league over a head coach who left the Eagles in shambles. Baalke holds the cards and Kelly must play by his rules. Even if Kelly wins, things can get ugly, just ask Harbaugh.

Potential Friction Looms?

Friction between head coach and management brings up a valid caveat in this newfound marriage.

Kelly and Baalke working together could create a tense climate between two bright minds with strong conviction in their football decisions.

In the college ranks, Kelly became the unquestioned icon in Eugene, Oregon. After going 46-7, he took his talents to the NFL where Eagles’ brass allowed him ample room for creativity. The structure in San Francisco will limit his room to improvise with a proven general manager bearing down on the team.

Kelly just wants to coach, but will he play by Baalke’s rules? If Kelly pushes back with suggestions, how will Baalke take those recommendations?

The 49ers parted ways with Harbaugh, who brought the team to an NFC Championship Game in his first year, followed by a Super Bowl appearance and a second NFC Title Game between the 2011-13 seasons. Despite a 44-19-1 record, sour relationships and an 8-8 season forced Harbaugh out of San Francisco.

Football isn’t just about numbers; it’s also about meshing with the coaching staff and the players to a certain extent. It’s not like Kelly garnered disdain from a number of players and alienated himself in Philadelphia right?

Wrong.

Kelly didn’t just part ways with the Eagles, he left on a bad note similar to Harbaugh in San Francisco:

Kelly’s exit may have hurt his options amidst the coaching carousel. He didn’t hit the market as a hot coaching candidate as many expected. If not for the 49ers, Kelly may have taken a year off, per CBSSports’ NFL Insider Jason La Confora:

He won’t survive as a legitimate NFL head coaching option after two failed opportunities in big NFL markets. If he bombs out west, he’ll likely return to the college ranks to rehabilitate his track record.

Kelly doesn’t have to become a player’s coach and partake in kumbaya get-togethers with Baalke, but he must at least build solid communication lines within the organization and shed the detached dictator image earned in Philadelphia.

Kaepernick’s Last Chance?

It’s unfair to expect quarterback Colin Kaepernick to become the NFL version of quarterback Marcus Mariota in Oregon. However, the 49ers signal-caller’s career outlook could rest in Kelly’s hands.

According to Rapoport, Kelly coveted Kaepernick before his arrival in San Francisco:

Now it’s up to Kaepernick to buy into Kelly’s system, per FOXSports’ NFL Insider Mike Garafolo via The Herd with Colin Cowherd:

Questions about Kaepernick’s work ethic must become a criticism of the past, if he intends to stay with the new regime. The 49ers could save $13.4 million by releasing the quarterback after June 1, per overthecap.com.

As it stands, Kaepernick will get the first crack at claiming the starting quarterback position with only Blaine Gabbert behind him on the roster.

Kelly has two realistic options: draft a quarterback with the No. 7 overall pick or build around Kaepernick for the future. The 49ers must address the offensive line and find the heir to Anquan Boldin, who will turn 36 next season, at wide receiver.

Most importantly, he must upgrade the league’s No. 29 total defense, allowing 387.4 yards per game.

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Just like Kelly, Kaepernick must redeem himself, and it must happen with some immediacy. The spotlight will shine bright on the 49ers in the first year. Analysts will critique and dissect every throw Kaepernick makes in Kelly’s system. The increased pressure will either bring out the best in both men or set the franchise back a few seasons.

Somewhere in his khakis, Harbaugh looks on at a former Pac-12 foe in Kelly, a former NFL pupil in Kaepernick and an organization that showed him the door and thinks about how happy he is to coach at his alma mater in Michigan, where he’s already the unquestioned icon.

Bring on the fireworks in San Francisco.