It’s going to be incredibly awkward Sunday in Santa Clara, when head coach Chip Kelly coaches a football team he’s already been fired from.
Did CEO Jed York consider that fact before he leaked the news to Ian Rapoport and Adam Schefter late on New Year’s Eve? Nah, of course not. He’s completely cool emasculating another head coach, all while alienating other candidates, who would rather stay at their current jobs than risk having their necks chopped off by York.
We can all understand firing a head coach who goes 2-14, but to leak it the night before and make Kelly go through the motions is another sign that shows how totally clueless York is.
Fire Kelly and GM Trent Baalke at the beginning of the week or a few weeks ago like the Rams did with Jeff Fisher or the Jaguars did with Gus Bradley. Don’t humiliate men, don’t anger your players, don’t make your franchise a punchline on Twitter.
Too, late. York is back at it again.
On Sunday York will embarrass Kelly in front of a half empty stadium. On Monday, he’ll have to try and convince top-notch candidates to come work for him. The timing of this shows a lack of understanding of how to operate an NFL franchise. York might be actually making the right decision on firing both Kelly and GM Trent Baalke, but the timing of it will make certain candidates squeamish to come work for him.
“For something to come out like that tonight, it’s completely absurd,” a 49ers assistant coach said via text. “Clearly a sign of an (ownership) issue.”
Per Peter King, no other NFL team has fired coaches in back-to-back seasons in the last 30 years. York will be making his fourth coaching change in four seasons. His reputation is becoming Dan Snyder mixed with the Cleveland Browns.
Could he actually make a bigger mess than Jim Tomsula or Kelly? That’s not entirely out of the question. Remember, Kelly was desperate for this job in January and could’ve easily left for Oregon had he known what his fate would’ve been. The head coaching change was a jarring move from York, partly an admission of guilt on his end.
“Nobody told us anything,” the assistant coach said.
Texts are flying through the coaching community on New Year’s Eve, and again, none of them are reflecting well on York or the 49ers. I tweeted the only way this move makes sense is if York already has a big name lined up.
Because if he doesn’t there are going to be a litany of coaches who won’t want to work in Santa Clara. And you could be witnessing another January Duck-Duck-Goose hunt from one of the worst organizations in football.
More to come tomorrow. A lot more.