Niners hope to cash-in their Chips with Kelly hire

The search is over. Less than two weeks after the San Francisco 49ers played their last down of football during the 2015 regular season which ended in an overtime victory over the division rival Rams, the team that finished the year with an overall record of 5-11 is already expected to take on the makeup of an entirely different franchise come the start of next season. Hours after the Niners' season finale, first-year head coach Jim Tomsula was relieved of his head coaching duties after a disappointing one and done experiment which saw San Francisco finish in the cellar of arguably the league's toughest division -- the NFC West. In search of the next heir of the throne, 49ers team owner Jed York and general manager Trent Baalke searched high and low before making their new hire. With such candidates as Bengals offensive coordinator Hue Jackson, Buccaneers OC Dirk Koetter, former Giants head coach Tom Coughlin and former head coach Mike Shanahan who made his way to the final cut, it was former Eagles head coach Chip Kelly who won the job over Shanahan to become the 20th head coach in 49ers franchise history.

Kelly, who broke out onto the NFL head coaching scene after a successful career at the collegiate level with the Oregon Ducks, jump-started his NFL career with back-to-back 10-6 seasons before a disappointing 2015 campaign that was cut short as he was let go by the Philadelphia Eagles the second to last week of the regular season. After making a handful of deals and personnel changes that backfired as well as reportedly losing the locker room as the season wore on, Philadelphia went 6-9 under Kelly this season before winning their final game without him as Philly posted a second-place finish in the NFC East behind Washington. In three seasons with the Eagles, Kelly boasted an overall record of 26-21 with one playoff appearance in 2013 when he became the first head coach in franchise history and only the second coach in league history to win a division title in his first year. Viewed by many as an offensive mastermind, Kelly gets a second chance less than a month after being fired by the Eagles and will be introduced by the 49ers during a press conference expected sometime next week. Speaking of second chances, the hiring of Kelly might also spawn a second chance for one Niner that's only a few seasons removed from bursting on the scene himself.

Being looked upon as the anti-Jim Tomsula, Kelly brings with him to the Bay Area, a very innovative offensive system which 49ers QB Colin Kaepernick appears to fit perfectly. Despite a pair of disappointing seasons after taking the league by storm in his first season and a half at the helm of the Niners quarterback position, the acquisition of Kelly should breathe life back into Kaepernick's career with the team after it appeared to be a foregone conclusion that his time with the organization had come to an end. Instead, San Francisco's QB situation heading into the 2016 season should be one of the most interesting considering it wasn't long ago that rumors swirled regarding a possible trade involving Kaepernick to the Eagles while Chip was still in Philly. The two can now work together on putting their past behind them in hopes of a more successful second act. Because at this point, if anyone can groom Kaepernick into being the duel-threat quarterback he was once known as and give the San Francisco offense the shot in the arm it so desperately needs, it's Chip, right?

As for my personal opinion, I believe Kelly used the team's current quarterback situation as a major selling-point and won over the hearts of Baalke and York over in the interview room by explaining to them that they already have a diamond in the rough in QB Colin Kaepernick, and one that would fit his system to a tee. Unlike in Philly, the 54-year old Kelly won't be given the keys to the kingdom. In other words, he won't have control over personnel decisions quite like he did with the Eagles. But that will allow him to focus strictly on coaching while also putting GM Trent Baalke on the hot seat who desperately needs the Kelly hire to work out for the 49ers or his days could be numbered. Kelly also has a few things of his own that he'll need to work on in his second rodeo including the relations he has with his players and the way he conducts things in the clubhouse, both of which were hot topics and areas of concern during his often criticized tenure with the Eagles. How things shape out in Kelly's first season in the Bay Area is anyone's guess at this point, but one thing that is certain is that April's NFL Draft should be an interesting one for the 49ers who own the 7th overall pick are in need of playmakers on both sides of the ball.

Chip Kelly on landing the job in SF: "As one of the most historic franchises in the National Football League, I realize the high standards and expectations that this position demands and I embrace the challenges ahead."

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