Via ProFootballTalk –
For the second straight year, the 49ers are expected to fire a coach after only one year on the job.
Per multiple reports, from ESPN and NFL Network, coach Chip Kelly is expected to be fired. He was hired a year ago, after being fired by the Eagles with three games left in the season.
A 49ers spokesman declined comment regarding the report.
ESPN and NFLN also report that the 49ers are expected to fire G.M. Trent Baalke. That move has previously been reported multiple times in multiple places.
If Baalke is out, it makes sense to fire Kelly, too. Forcing a new G.M. to keep a coach he wouldn’t have hired makes a dysfunctional situation even worse. The new G.M. should be able to hire his own coach.
Two years ago, the 49ers ended the season and promptly announced a “mutual parting” with coach Jim Harbaugh. Then-defensive line coach Jim Tomsula widely was expected to get the job, and he did. After a 5-11 season, Tomsula was fired.
The 49ers hired Kelly, who had emerged as a surprise candidate for the job. A season-opening win over the Rams was followed by 13 straight losses. Last week’s second win of the year (also over the Rams) apparently came too late to matter.
Back when Kelly was repeatedly denying any interest to leave the 49ers for a college job, PFT pointed out that this topic obscures the more important question of whether the 49ers want him to return. Apparently, the 49ers don’t.
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