If, as reported both by ESPN and NFL Media, the 49ers fire coach Chip Kelly, he’ll be available to be hired by any other NFL team.
So who will hire him?
Last year, Kelly generated limited interest (but found a job). This year, the Bills, Jaguars, and Rams could consider him, in theory. But why would they? (The Jaguars won’t, we’re told; it’s unclear what the others will do.)
Yes, he took the Eagles to the playoffs in 2013. However, Kelly’s vaunted system of offense and smoothies has been a failure since then, primarily in 2015 (when he had full control over the roster in Philly) and in 2016 (when he won fewer games with the 49ers than Jim Tomsula did a year earlier).
The Oregon job already has been filled (there’s no reason to think Oregon even wanted Kelly back), and most other significant college seats are filled. If no NFL team is interested in Kelly as a head coach, could he become an offensive coordinator?
Here’s an interesting, but probably unrealistic, thought. If offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels leaves the Patriots, could Kelly’s good friend Bill Belichick hire Kelly to run the offense?
Obviously, it wouldn’t be the Chip Kelly up-tempo, run-as-many-plays-as-possible-and-wear-out-his-own-team’s-defense offense. But if Kelly is the genius that so many in the media have made him out to be, he’d surely have the flexibility and the acumen to run a different system -- and possibly to enhance it, right?
If Kelly is capable only of running his system, he’d need to partner up with a defensive head coach who is willing to give Kelly the keys to the offensive side of the ball, like Mike Zimmer did with Norv Turner in Minnesota. Which would set the stage for a Chip Kelly/Sam Bradford reunion. Which probably isn’t happening.
All things considered, Kelly may not find another job in 2017 at the NFL or college level. Which makes those multiple buyouts a very good thing.
