Sometimes, a reader will send a link to a story, I’ll read it, and I’ll decide that the best move is to ignore it. And then another reader will send the same story. And then another. And another. Until the only way to get people to quit sending the same link will be to write about the issue and be done with it.
This is one of those times. (Obviously. I mean, why the hell else would I have led with that?)
NFL Network’s Brian Baldinger recently said the following on 97.5 The Fanatic in Philadelphia, via CBSSports.com: “I already hear there’s problems in the building between Chip [Kelly] and [Trent] Baalke.”
That’s fine, but NFL analysts hear a lot of things. And just because they hear things, it doesn’t mean those things they hear are accurate.
Who can forget, for example, former NFL Network analyst Warren Sapp declaring to the world that Jeremy Shockey was the “snitch” in the Saints bounty case? Also, ESPN analyst Ron Jaworski opted last December to dabble in the world of NFL reporting by declaring that the one-game suspension of Giants receiver Odell Beckham Jr. had been overturned.
So I’ll wait until a reporter from NFL Network or ESPN or FOX Sports or CSNBayArea.com or the Sacramento Bee or the Bay Area News Group or the San Francisco Chronicle reports this before concluding that it’s true. Or I’ll wait until I’ve heard the same something from a sufficiently reliable source or sources.
While it may be inevitable that problems arise between a coach and G.M. whose marriage feels like a ceremony that involved a shotgun, it seems too early for problems to arise, especially since Kelly is smart enough to realize that he needs to conduct himself differently than he did in Philadelphia. But if there are indeed already “problems in the building,” it’s time for the team’s owner to clunk heads together and get guys on the same page, or start making plans to hit the reset button after what, based on the team’s schedule, could be another long, fruitless season.