Chip Kelly: “I will never leave my job for another job while a season is going on.”

SANTA CLARA — This is the transcript of Chip Kelly’s Week-14 Wednesday press conference, courtesy of the 49ers’ P.R. department.

 

We read the obituary on your dad, very nice. What has helped you and your family get through this time?

“Well, I think you’re just really thankful for the time we had with him. He lived a vibrant and long life, 87 years. He touched a lot of people in his life and it was evident to us yesterday when we had the funeral how many people came and expressed their condolences and reached out. He had a huge impact in his life. I think, it’s a difficult time. I think we all feel for my mom more than anything else, but it’s an opportunity to celebrate the times that we had with him and he was just a great man.”

 

One of the things that kind of stood out about you here is your sense of humor and that’s one of the things that really kind of came through when reading about your dad, he had a great sense of humor. Is that where you get your sense of humor?

“I don’t have any sense of humor compared to my dad. I think he was special in that manner. He just had a zest for life. He was one of the happiest people you ever met. I think he really just enjoyed what he did. He was a lifelong learner. He had a thirst for knowledge and an insatiable appetite for information and he was just always fun to be around. He tried to show that and he really did. I think the people that ever were associated with him kind of thrived off of that from him.”

 

It said he was a devoted 49ers fan. Was that just from this past year or does that go back beyond–?

“My dad’s loyal now. He knows where his son was. He actually got buried in 49ers gear. He did not want to wear a suit in the coffin. He wore a suit for his whole career as a trial lawyer, but he wanted to wear a 49ers sweat suit when he passed away.”

 

How do you get back to work? Is it difficult to do that?

“It’s difficult. But, I’m not the first person to lose a loved one. I think it’s an unfortunate part of everybody’s life. Part of it, when I talk to our players about it on Saturday, there were so many players on our team that have lost loved ones. [WR] Jeremy Kerley lost a brother. [WR] Torrey Smith lost a brother. Spent some time with them and talked to them about how they dealt with it. It’s something that affects all of us. I don’t think you can ever be prepared for it. I know it’s really the first impactful one in my life. All my brothers are alive and my mom and dad were our family, we didn’t have any cousins. So, it was the first close one to me and it was hard. But, it’s what you have to do and I think that’s how you honor them is to move on. You can think about the good times and gain strength from it to be honest with you.”

 

How happy are you that you don’t have to answer the Oregon questions anymore and what do you think of their choice?

“I don’t know [University of Oregon head coach] Willie [Taggart]. I’ve heard great things about him. I think with all those questions, and hopefully this is the end of it for me, is that I will never leave my job for another job while a season is going on. I don’t think that’s fair. I didn’t do it when I was in college. I never talked to anybody in the National Football League until after our bowl game was over. I think in the NFL they have a great rule; you’re not allowed to leave your job. If you’re in the playoffs you can’t go until your season is done. It’s tough with the cycle that goes on in college. So, when I’ve said that I’m not going back to college, there’s never going to be an opportunity for me to go back to college because I have a job. I will not leave a team with three games to go because I got a bigger better deal somewhere. That’s not the way I’m wired and that’s not what I would ever do. I could never look [S] Antoine Bethea or [T] Joe Staley in the face again and talk to them about commitment and then if I was the guy that had a job that was offered that I thought was better than the one I had and I took off on them with three games to go, that’s just not the way I’m wired. I think some guys do it. I would never do it. I didn’t do it when I was in college. I would never talk to the National Football League until my season was over in college. I went to a bowl game, I refused to talk to anybody until after the bowl game was over and if that didn’t fit your schedule then I’m just not your guy. I don’t know why college questions ever come up with me because I would never leave my players before the season ended and that’s what I’ve said all along and that’s the way I’ll always be. So, if that precludes me from ever being involved in a college job, then that precludes me from ever being involved in a college job. So, hopefully you guys don’t ever have to ask that question again.”

 

Were you offered the job?

“No. Everybody knows and if you want to contact me there is no contact. I’m not talking to anybody about any other job. I have a job. It’s one thing I did learn from my dad. I have a commitment. They’ve made a commitment to me and I make a commitment to them. I’m not searching around and looking for other jobs while I have a job. I have a job to take care of and I would be disingenuous and wouldn’t be loyal to the players that I coach and those are the most important people that I deal with on a daily basis. I talk to them about making sacrifices all the time and being all in and doing all that and then I’m looking to try to go find a job while all this is going on. My sole focus is on who we’re going to play that week.”

 

What’s your message to the team going into this week’s game? Maybe last week was you have to finish and play all 60 minutes or do your job. What have you tried to get across to the players right now?

“I think the biggest thing we’ll address, and we had been really good at the beginning of the season, the penalties have really hurt us and have impacted us. We had two huge gains on the offensive side of the ball that were brought back because of holding penalties, one on the perimeter and one in the interior line. The pass interference penalties I think really hurt us on Sunday and I think for us to win football games we have to kind of hit it in all categories. You’ve to win the turnover battle, you’ve to win third downs, you’ve got to win penalties. Right now, especially in the last few weeks, we haven’t been as good as we had been earlier in the year. Earlier in the year we had done a really good job with it. But, these last couple of weeks we haven’t and that’s going to be a big emphasis for us this week in training and getting ready to play the Jets.”

 

Was CB Tramaine Brock’s PI call a questionable one at least from what you studied?

“I’m not allowed to question. So, that’s up for anybody else’s interpretation.”

 

I think defensive coordinator Jim O’Neil said yesterday that that’s how he was taught to play the ball.

“Yeah. That was how he was taught to play the ball.”

 

You said after the Bears game you didn’t like the way that the ball was coming out of QB Colin Kaepernick’s hand.

“Yeah.”

 

Why not have him wear a glove on his throwing hand?

“I don’t think you can tell a guy to wear a glove that has never worn a glove and say, ‘Hey, in the middle of the game, let’s try this.’ It’s just not something he’s done or has ever been approached with him. So, for me to come up and tell him, ‘Hey, I think you need to wear a glove,’ I don’t think that was the answer.”

 

No one suggested it during the game?

“The glove? No. And I’ve never been around a quarterback that had not worn gloves where you come up and say, ‘Hey, why don’t you wear a glove?’ That’s a personal preference in terms of your ability to throw the football and that’s entirely up to the individual player. Some guys like to do it. I know [Minnesota Vikings QB] Teddy Bridgewater has flourished using a glove. A lot of guys don’t use a glove. I would say more don’t use a glove than use a glove.”

 

How quickly did you decide that you would be going back to Kap to start this upcoming game?

“We talked about it on Monday. Even though I was away, we have phones, [Sacramento Bee reporter] Matt [Barrows]. I had an opportunity to watch film and I brought tape with me. So, I could watch tape and then I had a chance to talk to [offensive coordinator] Curtis Modkins, our offensive coordinator and then [quarterbacks coach] Ryan Day, our quarterbacks coach and we kind of went through what our thought process was and we believe Kap gives us the best chance to win this week. So, we’re excited to get ready and go play the Jets with Kap.”

 

There was a deep ball that he threw to RB Shaun Draughn that was underthrown and went off the defender’s helmet. Normally when he misses, he overthrows passes. Was it his grip on the ball? Was it the weather?

“I haven’t talked to him about the game or a specific throw. So, I can’t get detailed with you on that. Obliviously, I saw the same thing that you saw, but how that happened and what happened I haven’t had a chance to visit with Kap at all. Literally, I just got back late last night and crunching tape this morning and getting an opportunity to get with these guys when we get on the field.”

 

Is there any desire to see QB Christian Ponder in a backup role or in uniform on Sundays over these last four weeks?

“We haven’t had any discussions about that so far. Really, it was just who was going to be the starting quarterback against the Jets and then let’s get forward because part of game planning evolves around who’s pulling the trigger. So, that was our conversation was just about who was going to start and I think both Ryan, Curtis and myself agreed that it was Kap.”

 

So, QB Blaine Gabbert will be the backup for this upcoming game?

“Yeah.”

 

Through the first eight weeks you guys were the least penalized team in the league. The last four weeks, the most. Anything you can put your finger on on why that’s flipped so dramatically?

“No. And that’s something I will address again and talk to those guys about it because those are the hidden yards that occur in a football game and that you have to be worried about. And I think you can control part of that. Some of them are aggressive penalties and you don’t want to take your aggressiveness away from your players. But, some of them, the offsides and things like that that I think are the ones that we can control. The biggest ones, especially for us on defense, are the ones on third down that extend drives where we have an opportunity to get them off the field and then all of a sudden we have an illegal contact or something to that effect. So, we have to again, do a good job as a coaching staff of emphasizing and understand of how much of an impact those penalties and that penalty yardage can have on us.”

 

This might be just my interpretation, but you’ve shot down the college stuff throughout the season but I don’t think you’ve ever done it as forcibly as you have today, kind of spelling out your philosophy–?

“Because I think that’s, and I didn’t mean to interrupt you, that’s just normal to me. Like I don’t know, very rarely, has any NFL coach ever left in the middle of a season for a college job?”

 

Yeah.

“Who?”

 

University of Louisville head coach Bobby Petrino.

“Name another.”

 

Petrino.

“Name another.”

 

My question is, again, perhaps it’s just me, you weren’t as forceful or haven’t spelled it out as much as you did today. Is there a reason why today you feel comfortable saying–?

“No. The reason is this, is that I’ve always felt that the reporters that covered me were so intelligent that they would understand what I was saying. So, then I learned that it’s probably my fault for not telling the exact point. I will never leave my job. I never have in the past and I’m not going to leave my job if I still have games to coach. That’s what my deal is. I have a commitment. I learned that from my father. We can talk about my dad. I made a commitment to whether it was a university I was at, I made a commitment to a football team that I was at and I just won’t do that. To me, and when I asked about it in the NFL, it doesn’t happen. I don’t know why it came up with my name, but when I just said name them, you guys have named one guy that has ever left in the middle of a National Football League season to go take a college job. It just doesn’t happen. So, that’s why, and again I don’t like having to answer the question all the time. So, it’s not going to happen. So, it’s not going to happen. I’m never going to leave.”

 

I’m not going to pursue it anymore. I’m glad you thought I’m so smart though.

“OK. [Laughter] I appreciate that and I appreciate the intelligent questions that we were asked today so we could clarify the whole situation for everybody.”

This article has 196 Comments

      1. Grant

        I think that Rod Mullens let go of a very good HC in Mark Helfrich, and did so in a very CS manner….and that by showing the color of his feathers, makes him the next one to go….Lessons from TB…?

    1. I don’t think he panicked. I think he likes what Willie Taggart brings to the table. He’ll add some power running to the spread and he’s a young guy who has improved his team every year he’s been a HC. Sometimes it’s better to find the next guy instead of going back to the old guy.

  1. Chip was never an option for Oregon. He wants to prove he can coach in the NFL. He was told by York that not much is expected this year because they do not have the talent he needs. I would expect Balke to get fired and Gamble to be promoted. If they go outside for a GM candidate keep an eye on Louis Riddick who Chip is also close with. Nothing to see here. Never was!

    1. Agreed 100%. Chip was never an option for Oregon. If Chip had bailed, that would have been an end to his ever getting another NFL head coaching job. Also, there was no way Jed was going to let him walk and bring in a 4th head coach in 4 years.

      I hope you are right about Baalke. Personally, I am afraid Jed will bring Baalke back and try to sell it to the fans by asking for patience and saying he wants continuity.

      I am all for continuity, but Baalke has shown he is not a good judge of talent. the 2012 draft fiasco alone would have gotten most GMs fired.

      1. Chip and his new GM need to go out and get that QB the 49ers have not had since Steve Young.
        This is the monumental year for this organization to get back to respectability and it has to start at the QB positions. This is where this organization developed its legacy and its the only way it will return to it.
        Never mind pass rush, dlinemen etc. That can come also in the draft and free agency, but first and foremost it begins by acquiring the next great QB.
        No pressure Chip!

  2. Sorry, but what exactly was the point of the press conference here?

  3. Recruiting is everything in College. They don’t have the luxury to wait and see if somebody better comes along without risking their recruiting class. Taggart is a solid hire imo. Not a wow hire but a solid one. It appears Kelly told them he wasn’t interested or was never truly a candidate.

    1. Kelly has one of only 32 openings in the NFL… Although the Niners are a dumpster fire right things can change quick in the NFL. One really good draft and some soild Free agent pick ups and there competive once again. Plus he knew he would be more involved after this year. If by a miracle Jed decides to clean house he still collects 6 mil a year for the next 3… Then he can go back to college and get a job of his choice. No brainer for him. A story to generate clicks. Well done Grant.

    2. Michigan waited, let the recruiting date. 2 years later they were on the verge of making the playoffs.

      If Kelly went back the recruits would have followed.

      1. Harbaugh was a special situation. He was the only guy Michigan wanted and they knew he was going to be available. Harbaugh wound up with a recruiting class ranked in the 50’s because he didn’t have any time, but as was the case in SF, he got the most out of the players that were already there.

        Chip Kelly doesn’t have the same luster he once did and there is no evidence that he was even a consideration to go back to Oregon. Given his distaste for recruiting, there’s also little reason to believe he could put a good class together in a short time.

        There could be another reason too. Like just maybe Oregon was impressed by Taggart and wanted to hire him because they thought he was the best option? Crazy thought I know.

        1. Kelly has been better than Harbaugh at the college level. The kids would have come, just like they did with Harbaugh.

          Kelly’s schedule didn’t fit Oregon’s. Their loss.

          1. Harbaugh has been a success at every level and was a Michigan alum that they were desperate to hire. Oregon was not desperate to hire Kelly obviously and he would have had less than a month to recruit. Harbaugh is one of the best recruiters there is and he wasn’t able to put much of a class together because it was so late in the process.

            If Oregon really wanted Kelly back they would have waited. They didn’t. Tells you all you need to know.

            1. All this tells me is that Mullens can’t handle the heat. He took the easy “Jed York” route with the in-house hiring of Helfrich. And now with the natives getting restless and worry about a recruiting date he pulled the trigger on a guy who has had mixed results on a much smaller stage.

              1. We’ll see. I think it was a smart hire and went outside the comfort zone they had followed previously.

      2. Guess what none of it matters. He’s staying for at least another season and the matter is closed until January 2018.

        1. That should be the case but this is twice now that Kelly has thumbed his nose at Grant. Expect more scathing articles and much ado about nothing to be written about Kelly from Grant’s perspective. He did the same thing to Harbaugh leading into Harbaugh’s final year.

            1. Of course the bay area media get along with Harbaugh NOW but when he was the coach they couldn’t stand him because he never gave them answers to there questions that they wanted. Harbaugh never revealed anything and always seemed like he didn’t want to be at the press conferences.

              1. I can’t speak for the rest of the media, but I liked Harbaugh’s interview style. He preferred direct questions and admired the courage and research they required.

          1. He’s been butt hurt ever since Chip put his dad in his place and Grant took it personal smh

    3. Kelly’s been saying he wasn’t interested for weeks but these reporters kept beating a dead horse because that’s what they do when there desperate for story’s.

    1. I think Jed has some pictures of Chip Kelly doing something bad because let’s be honest why would he want to stay in this dumpster fire.

          1. Horribly for the fan base, but then what else is new under the York ownership?

    2. Undercenter

      You and I are on the same page….I think that some posters on here want to lynch him before he gets an honest chance to draft some players and coach some football. I’m presently putting together a list of players off this years roster to measure against next years 53….I suspect that there are going to be a lot of surprises including …Who’s here and who’s gone ?….Honestly, I think that we’ve got a lot of talent on the niners….I also think that we’ve got a lot of people taking plays ‘off’….I guess we’ll see….too many injuries….

  4. Kawakami: 49ers fall, Raiders rise, and it’s…

    The 49ers have the new stadium and the massive profits, the Raiders don’t have either, but which team is 9-2 and which one is 1-10?

    It’s almost too perfect: York’s 49ers have flopped on the field, and are now on a historic 10-game losing streak, a downfall synced almost exactly to the opening of Levi’s Stadium in 2014 and the $100-million-plus annual profits starting to rush into the Yorks’ bank accounts.

    How does this happen? My conclusion is…It always starts at the top; you are who you’re owned by.

    One of York’s most prevalent qualities: Since building Levi’s, York has mostly stopped listening to outside advice and even before that began collecting a coterie of aides apparently there mostly to inform him of his own wisdom and to leak information that puts him in the best possible light.

    http://www.mercurynews.com/2016/11/28/mark-davis-raiders-are-rising-and-jed-yorks-49ers-are-collapsing-for-very-specific-and-related-reasons/

  5. I would give Chip another year provided he changes his defensive staff and gets a stronger OC and Kap returns.

    If he refuses to do those then replace him with a different coach
    As far as GM we need someone fro mthe Ron Wolf tree, not Parcells tree or Belichick tree

  6. What ever happened to the “good ol’ days” when the media and owner debated whether to fire the Niner coach because he didn’t win by enough?…TomD.

    This is what York has to decide: Were the highs Kelly provided in those close losses to Dallas, Arizona and Miami enough to validate Kelly did anything positive in 2016? York needs to decide now if he wants his head coach to fear for his job the entire month of December. Because if you are going to keep him, that’s not a healthy relationship to build with someone.

    http://www.knbr.com/2016/12/04/if-chip-kellys-job-is-safe-jed-york-needs-to-come-out-and-say-it/

  7. Grant,

    I have been reading your blog since you started. In addition, I have enjoyed your articles. I don’t always agree with you, but you write well.

    I know this is old news, but is it possible that when the niners were chasing Adam Gase they never intended to hire him as head coach? Reading all the old articles, and new info as it becomes available, it seems plausible that he was targeted all along to be the Offensive Coordinator. Trent/Jed wanted Tomsula from the beginning and were setting up Gase and that he would be delivered when Tomsula visited him at the Denver airport?

    I know that the buck stops with Jed, but it seems to me that Trent wanted Tomsula from the get go. How has he been able to side step this epic blunder?

    Keep writing.

    1. I agree, I believe Baalke wanted Tomsula from the beginning. But Baalke interviewed Gase for the head-coaching vacancy, then pulled a bait-and-switch and offered Gase the offensive coordinator job instead.

      1. Grant:

        I don’t agree that Baalke wanted Tomsula. I’ve mentioned this a number of times here on the blog. Watch the press conferences immediately after Tomsula was hired and Kelly. When Kelly spoke, Baalke was silent and didn’t feel the need to interrupt because he sees Kelly as a HC. With Tomsula, Baalke watched over him like a mother hen. He corrected his statements and interrupted multiple times. He didn’t then and probably doesn’t now see Tomsula as a HC in the NFL.

      2. I can’t see this, Albert Breer and Tim Kawakami both reported that a deal was in place for Adam Gase to be 49ers coach.

        From Breer,

        “According to an NFL source, Gase and Baalke did indeed come very close to an agreement for Gase to replace Harbaugh, down to the details of his prospective coaching staff, and Gase understood that his choices for the coordinator spots were approved.”

        And here is what Kawakami’s article stated.

        “Tomsula’s name was not involved in the discussions with Gase about the defensive coordinator slot, I was told.

        Then, the next morning, after Baalke flew back to the Bay Area, things changed: Gase, the source says, was informed that he could only have the job if he made Tomsula his defensive coordinator.”

        This makes no sense to me… unless it was a Jed decision.
        We must remember Jed was far more involved and vocal at that time… Talking about “holding him accountable”, stating they needed to get back to “winning with class” (intimating the lack of class was due to Harbaugh in the process), and tweeting apologies after an embarrassing loss to Seattle.

        Grant, you know better than us, but based on your statements it would seem you don’t trust TK’s multiple sources. Is my understanding correct?

  8. The only one that will be left from this debacle will be Kelly. The first one out the door will be Kaencerprick, followed by Baalke, both coordinators, and many of the remaining staff. As dumb as Jeb is, he’s not going to pay (He’s all about the money) another coach to sit on the beach in Maui sucking on drink with a umbrella in it. Let’s hope he hire’s someone off the Bill Walsh tree to turn this sinking ship around.

  9. If Trent Baalke doesn’t get fired, I’m thinking the Niners’ first-two picks next year will be Reuben Foster and DeShone Kizer.

    1. Foster would be a great pick, but I still think Kizer would be better off returning to Not receive Dame for another year.

      1. At number 2? If he is the target. I would hope we trade back a few picks… even a 3rd to drop 3-5 picks would be fine.

    2. Kizer will have made a massive mistake in judgement if he enters the draft and falls to the second round.

      Foster is a stud and would fill a big need but an ILB at #2 overall is tough. Especially with two dominant DL at the top of draft rankings.

      1. Including 2014, since then we’ve had 3 head coaches, 3 OC’s, 3 DC’s. The only position that hasn’t been replaced is, GM. That’s what Eddie was talking about when he said that Jed knows what he needs to do. He’s made the other changes and it didn’t fix the slide. It’s a simple process of elimination.

    3. Bad idea to draft a LB this high by a talent-deprived team with no QB or edge pass rusher. If they can’t get Garrett, they should trade back and take Falk.

      I’m waiting to see how Trubisky fares against Stanford. I’ve watched Falk and Kizer play against the same defense. It gives me some common denominator to rate their level of QB play.

      1. There is no way Falk goes in rnd 1.. Mid Rnd 2 is more realistic. If you haven’t seen Foster play then you should. This guy is very good. A day 1 plug and play in the middle of any defense. Look what Kuekly did for the Panthers. Look how bad they are without him. Better yet look at the Niners without P Willy… I’m not saying he is at level but he is better then CJ Mosley from the Ravens and he is a Pro Bowler… He would be a great Pick if Garrett is gone.

        1. Niners need to get the BPA QB in round 1, which would mean trading down and picking up more draft picks. They need the best QB available and they need a lot of picks, including perhaps a second QB in the later rounds. Foster is the best ILB in the draft but probably makes sense to be picked by a team with a better talent level.

          1. No they don’t because this does not have a QB worth a top three pick.

            1. I think about it as the supply-demand law of the market. The market dictates the value. We probably agree that a QB is way, way more important to a team than any other single player. A team without a starting QB who wants to draft one has to consider the competition from other teams, not the perceived value relative to players at other positions. Only Singletary (and maybe Baalke) believes that the QB is just another position. Unless you think that no QBs will be drafted in the top half of the first round, Niners will have to draft a QB ahead of the perceived board value. Else they might as well draft another Driskel or Daniels.

              1. Mood, I agree with you. This BPA notion during the draft has never made a whole lot of sense to me. You have to be deep and have good starters to only go BPA and what team has that? Even if you do go BPA, I would apply a weighting factor and probably need factor to the positions.

              2. You never reach for a QB early… There is no QB worth a top 5 pick this coming year.. You build the team up before you invest in a QB… Do you not remember the Alex Smith situation? Took your logic and it ruined that QB for years. Until the talent level overall was improved. Then look at Kaep situation when he got his shot. The team was stacked! Look what happens when it’s not the last 2 + years…. This team needs help everywhere… You take the best talent at 2 unless it’s a massive return… Allen and Foster will be the main targets. Peppers could sneak in there thoughts if they trade down to 4-5 range..

              3. When you say you never reach for a QB early, what do you mean by reach? It sounds like you mean we shouldn’t take a QB until we’ve built up other parts of the team. But once those parts are built up, don’t you have to take your “hopefully” franchise QB in the 1st or 2nd round? How else can you get the most competitively sought after position in football and perhaps all of sports.

              4. My opinion this year they should focus on finding a QB in rnds 2-3…. There is no A Luck in this draft. I believe that’s where the value is at. They need to do the Raiders stradegy. Best talent in rnd 1 then QB after.Thats what I would do this year. 2018 has the potential to be a much better class at QB.. just in case we are picking real high and let’s say there is a coaching change and the QB chip chooses doesn’t fit…Just a thought. I mean I would hate to get stuck with a Blake Bortles and pass up on the next Mack!

              5. Cubus,
                BPA approach may make sense with a strong existing roster, like the NIners of 2011.

                RAW,

                Luck is a once-in-a-generation player with regard to NFL preparedness. Cannot use an exception to prove a rule. You think that the current QBs are round 2-3 talent. Well, 32 teams thought that Prescott is not even 3rd round talent. McKenzie was going to be run out of town because of multiple years of mediocre to bad drafts and terrible FA decision on two Matts as QBs. Then he strikes gold with one fantastic draft and he’s now a genius.

                Bottom line, drafting is a numbers game. If a team needs to draft a good QB as badly as Niners need, they have to get the one on top of their board at whatever draft position they need to ensure they get him. Niners getting an ILB instead makes no sense to me. How many games are won every week by ILBs?

              6. Would you rather have Alex Smith to build your team around or Patrick Willis? I know who I would take.

              7. You don’t reach for a qb… lets look at the qb’s that were reached for in the first round.
                Blaine Gabbert, Blake Bortles, EJ Manuel, Jake Locker, Christian Ponder, Tim Tebow, Mark Sanchez, and Alex Smith…(You might include Joe Flaco in this as well but he wasn’t draft until 18 and I was not certain of his draft stock at the time) and these are just the ones that were draft higher than their stock dictated.
                Of course there are also cases of players failing who graded highly such as Vince Young and JaMarcus Russel.
                But the point is it’s very easy to see when players are seen as obvious reaches they almost never pan out… in fact I cannot think of one that had the degree of success the team was hoping for when they draft them.
                I understand the desire to take a qb… we desperately need one, but there isn’t a a qb I would give a top 20 grade too let alone a top 2 grade. That kind of reach is insane.

              8. Shoup:

                Sure you don’t “reach” for a QB when you know it is a reach. That can only be ascertained once the rookie gets into camp and starts playing. You don’t 100% know beforehand, do you? So then it’s the evaluators problem. But I would add that of the crop of QBs coming out of college lately, very few have the skills to play in the NFL right away. These guys get evaluated by dozens of supposed experts. Maybe most of these evaluators are lemmings, but since the QBs are being ranked, why would anyone think (before the draft) that second and third and so on rounders would be better than first rounders.

                Seems like the solution might be to try not to be in a situation where you absolutely need to draft a QB. Instead draft somebody that can sit for at least a year and develop them.

                But ultimately you have to get into this position of not absolutely having to draft a QB. If you don’t have a good QB on the roster now and you decide to let the rookie sit a year or more, then the fan base continues to suffer.

                To me it doesn’t seem like a cut and dry situation.

              9. History has shown that drafting even a highly touted QB still has a 50% chance of failure.

                I hope Kaep plays well these next few games, enough to warrant retaining him.

                The Niners should still draft another QB, but maybe they wait until the 4th round and pick up a player like Cooper Rush. However, if Kizer falls to the second round, he has the potential to be the future franchise QB.

              10. RAW,

                No franchise builds a team around an ILB, even if that ILB is HoFer. With a decent DLine, a 3-4 team can insert smart plug-and-play ILBs and get into the play-offs year after year. They don’t need HoFer ILBs.

                But the need for a franchise QB is an order of magnitude more important.

                The question is not whether one would choose Alex Smith over Willis. The questions is to how to build and replenish the franchise so as to pitch tent at the base camp and make an assault on Mt. Lombardi every year (to paraphrase Bill Walsh).

                The draft mistakes that Nolan-McLoughan team made in their years were many, but the worst to me is that they drafted just one QB in four years, until 2009, when McLoughan drafted …Nate Davis! Ouch!! Basically, they had no plan to draft and develop QBs on a regular basis, just like Baalke (with Harbaugh’s years being an anomaly)!

                Niners have systematically neglected the QB position for 15 years and this is the result. Nolan used a linebacker and receiver coach as QB coach for Alex after he was drafted!

                Shoup,

                I’m not sure if your comment is aimed at me because it’s not relevant to what I’m saying. I’m saying that if a team has not implemented a plan to continuously drafting and developing for the QB position, then they have to do what they need to do to get the highly rated QB they want. That may mean drafting down 5 positions, and still picking that QB 5 picks ahead of where the pundits had projected he should go. That pick would still have a high probability of being a bust.

              11. Preach on, Mood. Educate these guys. ILB at 2? Smh

                Foster at two makes plenty of sense at two if Garrett is gone and the 49ers are not able to trade down. None of the QBs were consistent enough to warrant that high of a pick, and the next best option is a 4-3 guy. The 49ers have needs across the board and should not reach if the QB is not the BPA that will fit what the 49ers want to do going forward. Drafting an ILB at two is fairly high for the position, but I do not think you can go wrong with a guy who is compared to Willis and one of the best ILBs in the game right now.

              12. There is a lot of sense in taking a QB if you have a top 5 pick like the Niners will, but you can’t inflate the value of the player in regards to others who may be better prospects. There is no QB in this draft that is worth a top 5 pick. That sentiment is shared by pretty much every scouting report and opinion I’ve read going back months. Some are still mocking QB’s to the Niners and Bears in the top 5 simply because teams tend to draft QB’s high, but as far as the best talent goes, the QB position in this draft doesn’t register until the bottom third of the first round from what I’ve read and in my own personal opinion. If that’s the case, you can’t take a lesser player simply because it’s an important position. If you have a high pick it’s likely because your team has holes all over the place, which is exactly the situation with the 9ers. If the strength of the draft is defense, then you go defense, at least with your first pick. You can take a QB on day two or trade up into the bottom of round one, but that first pick has to get you an elite talent.

              13. Cubus,
                If teams only had an idea of if a guy was good or not when they got them in camp then they should just randomly draw names out of a hat. The consensus opinion is that there isn’t a a qb that grades out as a top 20 pick. Most don’t even have a first round grade on any qb in this class, so you shouldn’t take one at two. And no I’m not arguing for a LB at this spot.

                Mood,
                I have no issue with taking a qb. In fact I think they must at some point in the first 3 rounds. I only think they must avoid taking one at 2 when the value clearly isn’t there. People arguing that it’s better to build your team around a qb than another position are correct but that is only true if the qb is good… and I can’t think of a single qb that was clearly reached for in the first that actually became a player that the team that drafted them could build around.

    4. Well this is a very top dominated Defensive draft. Any GM worth there salt would not reach for anyone other then Allen, Foster at 2… just my opinion though.. There Day 1 stalwarts..

          1. I doubt he’ll be a GM anymore other teams will take notice for what his done here and how fast he ran it to the ground

        1. Balke will take best player on his board in the top 2… Could very well be Allen…

              1. And the two DL they took in the first round the past two seasons aren’t best suited to a 4-3.

              2. I disagree I think Armstead can play end in a 4-3… Buckner prolly not… I think Allen can play everywhere. Maybe I’m wrong.

              3. How many 300lb 4-3 DEs do you see in the NFL? Not many. Because most guys that big don’t have the flexibility to win around the edge, which any good 4-3 DE needs to be able to do.

                Armstead is not the exception. He’s a straight path pass rusher. He’s no JJ Watt or Julius Peppers.

              4. That’s true but Armstead has that basketball background he might able to adjust… Maybe not

              5. Sheldon Richardson is a 290 – 300lb DL being played in a wide variety of positions this year, one of which is OLB, and having the worst season of his pro career. In previous years he has focused on 3-4 DE and DT in a 4-man front and been very good.

              6. Fair enough, though I believe last year he spent a fair bit of time on the DL too. He’s a better DL than OLB. If they didn’t have Mo Wilkerson and Leonard Williams on the roster he’d be playing DE/DT full time.

              7. Armstead hurts the base run D at 4-tech. That’s why I think he should be moved to the edge on base downs like Richardson.

              8. Maybe we should go to a 53 if we draft Allen. It’s simple, and everyone swarms to the ball carrier with relentless abandon, tackling is emphasized, including gap control with the idea of avoiding the big play. You can use it against multiple looks, because you can adjust and blitz. And it uses cover 3 zone in pass coverage….

              9. Dang Razor. Against who? Woody Hayes’ offense? Your Mike would have to be a Tampa2-type Mike, and Sam/Will would need to be 4-3 Wills and you’d still give up a bunch of stuff in front of your corners.
                I played 5-3 in HS, and that was before The Flood!
                Are you trimming today?
                ; -)

              10. Brotha, that was your Grandpa’s 53. This 53 will be a West Coast Smash Mouth with multiple Blitz packages that’s guaranteed to to turn out the offensive lights! I’m always trimming!

            1. Grant:

              Do you think there is any chance that Fangio would come back if he is fired and the 9ers make it worth his while financially?

            2. Razor
              Unfortunately, I’M the grandpa!
              PS
              A NamVet friend e-mailed from Cannonball. He said he wasn’t at The Chosin, but today his toes are frozen. Returns home manana.

              1. He also said that yesterday even though he was pretty much standing in one spot that he walked about 15 miles just to keep the circulation going in his legs. Some of the Afghan vets have served in the cold, but the desert and jungle vets were shaking their heads and grinning through it. The Vets were well behaved. The tribal folks appreciative, and a good many of the locals sick of the outsiders.

              2. That was a great thing the vets did and I think it had a real impact on the decision to not grant the permit. Good on them for supporting the protesters up there.

  10. Trent, if you planned on carrying 3 QB’s through the season why did you cut Driskel? Wouldn’t it have made more sense that if you’re going to have a third QB that never suits up on Sunday to let it be the one that you spent a draft pick on?

  11. This is my opinion behind what Balke was thinking by keeping Ponder instead of Driskel. He thought that when Kaep was given an opportunity to play that he would be so bad that he can push Ponder on to Chip. The plan back fired cause Kaep is playing better then expected. Not great but was improving every week until last week. This was a power struggle behind the scenes between Kelly and Balke. Kelly won, which is another nail in the coffin for Balke. Kelly and Gamble have positioned themselves for more control.

    1. How about this as a more simple answer. Comparing a 6th round draft pick (Driskel) who has no NFL experience with a former 1st round draft pick (Ponder) who has experience and is relatively cheap. Further, they were both evaluated during TC and Driskel was found wanting.

      1. You think Ponder will be on the team next season? Driskel at least had the potential of being an unknown. We all know Ponder and we all know why he was painting his house when the team called. Should a former first rounder with NFL experience look better then a 6th rounder in his first camp, of course I mean if he didn’t look better then Driskel just how pathetic would that be for Ponder. Just because Ponder looked better in TC doesn’t mean the team should have chosen him over their rookie. Had the team gone down a QB they could have likely still signed Ponder and if not trust me they still would have ended up with someone just as good.

          1. I doubt that I think Kaepernick just wanted out of here. Him selling his home in San Jose and buying one in NY proves that.

        1. IMO, if a rookie QB from the 6th round doesn’t show promise in TC, why keep him? The team can always draft a late round QB next year and take another long shot (which is what these late round QB picks generally are). Now if Driskel had been a 1st or 2nd rounder (probably even 3rd), that’s a different story.

          1. cubus

            I agree with you, but then how do we explain Marcus Martin ? Three years and a ton of money, and still he is taking up a roster slot and only shows up for chow….truthfully….what iss this ?

    1. Same interview but more of it. As far as Kelly losing the team it sure does not sound like it.

      ://ninerswire.usatoday.com/2016/12/07/torrey-smith-on-chip-kelly-we-love-him-to-death-hes-a-great-coach/

          1. Tomsula never lost the locker room last year players were still talking positively about him

            1. My feeling about Tomsula was that he was handcuffed by a meddling GM.

              I do not have a shred of evidence. but my theory about Tomsula was that the FO wanted him to lose that last game so they would be awarded a better draft position.

              If he had lost that last game, they might have retained him, but when he did everything in his power to win, they fired him, and did not give him the courtesy of savoring that victory for at least a day, to give exit interviews with his players.

              Those leaks before the game was just more business as usual for the FO.

  12. If they keep Baalke for continuity, they will continue to lose. Jed needs an intervention, and some good advice.

    Baalke has proved that his drafts are not well thought out, and his ACL strategy is an unmitigated disaster.

    If Baalke is the GM, decent FAs will avoid the Niners like the plague, and will accept less to go elsewhere.

    Chip had a good presser, and I am glad he is the Niner HC. Even though they have been losing, the way they lose gives me hope, because he has the right mindset to build a winning system.

    His father should be proud of Chip, the way he hid his grief to do his job. His father also gave us all a lesson in loyalty, being buried in a Niner outfit.

    Hope the team shows some loyalty, and gets Chip his second win.

  13. Great article on Ron Wolf and his methods. Lists all of personnel people he has mentored.

    One of the main things he stresses is to always draft a qb. Every year draft a qb. He keep drafting qbs every year even when Brett Farve was in his prime. Your read his history and it makes Baalke’s blundering way even more painful.

    http://mmqb.si.com/mmqb/2016/12/07/nfl-draft-2017-ron-wolf-green-bay-packers-draft-philosophy-quarterbacks-reggie-mckenzie-john-dorsey

    IMO, his son, Eliot Wolf, will make a great General Manager.

    1. Grant would you say if he was willing to go back to Oregon he was maybe thinking he could get fired at years end?

      1. Maybe he was trying to get fired. How else do you explain his coaching against the Bears?

        1. It’s seems like Ted Robinson and his partner on pre game show throw Chip under the bus and seem to state that the roster is fine.. Seems like there speaking for Balke. There is some political stuff going on for control… Maybe Chip feels that he is going to get fired.

        2. “How else do you explain his coaching against the Bears?”

          First word that comes to mind….Typical

          It’s the same stuff week after week after week.

              1. That damn snow ball game cost me a fantasy championship. I had the Eagles kicker on the game and they went for two point conversions on every single score. I lost my game by less than 10 points, I would’ve one but I got zero points out of my kicker.

                It still burns me!

      2. One local sports radio host said that all of the assistants are dialing for jobs. He based this on info he got from “sources inside the building.”

        1. Wow! Here we go again with the leaks. Kelly will be fired, book it. Will Gamble get fired because he is friends with Kelly? I hate that we still use leaks but Kelly has got to go.

          1. Bring in Kyle Shanahan and convince Fangio to return as assistant HC/DC. And then I wake up.

          1. He made this comment on Monday. At that point his people were in negotiations with Oregon.

            The Oregon AD was impatient and chose not to wait.

            1. So negotiations were underway when the Oregon contingent went to the funeral. They probably told Kelly it was now or never. Shameful tactic Oregon.

              1. Yup, if that happen then Oregon should be ashame of themselves because the man was burying his father

      1. My post was a reply to Grant’s link. Jed will be butt hurt when he hears about this. And we know what happens when Jed is butt hurt.

        Who knows, this story could be another 49ers leak.

  14. This is too far gone to not consider Jed. He is the one who should be held accountable.

    If Jed thinks he can continue to fire people and start winning, he is sadly delusional. This situation is so toxic, only Eddie can fix it. No competent coach in his right mind would want to come here to destroy his career.

    JH is laughing.

      1. That’s what shocks me about Chip Kelly taking the 49ers job when he did because he had to have known what Baalke did to this team the last 3 years and running Harbaugh out of town with all the leaks and back stabbing from Jed, yet knowing this Chip took the job anyways where he could’ve went to better jobs in college so that only tells me one thing he really wants to stay in the NFL.

          1. Oregon and USC would’ve, remember it rumored that USC wanted to offer him the job but were scared that Chip would turn them down you know USC is full of pride.

        1. Chip was butt hurt to hear the shade thrown at him from the Eagles, and grasped this job like a drowning man does to a life preserver.

          He did see some talent,and thought that he could fix the problems. Too bad Baalke sat on his hands during Free Agency, and even re-signed DEVEY. then went obtuse drafting with another ACL pick.

  15. Wow. Really liked this press conference for Chip. I think his comments on commitment will ring true for players. Chip seems like a high character guy and I think the players respect that from him.

    1. 2 seasons ago, I wanted Ken Norton as the Niner DC. Posters laughed at that notion, and even Grant this year, early on.

      Still,he was a former Niner, and won rings.

    2. Raiders are loaded with talent on both sides so that credit should go to Reggie if Jack was here with the 49ers with this roster it would be the same

  16. Really looking forward to this game tonight. Two good teams playing for first place. Money is on the Chiefs.

    1. Do not care about either team, but I think the Raiders will win. However, with my track record, I might have just jinxed them. ;p

        1. You know me, I like Kaep. However, I thought that AS handled his demotion with class, and wished him well.

    2. I think the Chiefs will win but would not be surprised if the Raiders do. All bets are off in the AFC this season.

    3. The Chiefs have owned the Raiders in recent years and beat them pretty soundly earlier this season, so they are likely going to win at home on a short week. The Raiders always have a chance with that offense, but It’s going to be tough to go into Arrowhead on a cold night and get a win against a team that has your number.

      Just wanted to add onto the Alex Smith/Andy Reid discussion from yesterday with something I read on NFL.com this morning. Of the total points the Chiefs have scored, 49.5% have come from the defense and ST’s. That is incredible and the highest in the league. That’s how you win games when your Offense and Defense are ranked in the middle of the pack or lower.

    1. Embed code

      var _giphy_tv_tag=”seriously”;
      var g = document.createElement(‘script’); g.type = ‘text/javascript’; g.async = true;
      g.src = (‘https:’ == document.location.protocol ? ‘https://’ : ‘http://’) + ‘giphy.com/static/js/widgets/tv.js’;
      var s = document.getElementsByTagName(‘script’)[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(g, s);

  17. Kelly: “The football discussion I had today with Jed was just about injuries,” Kelly added. “Who’s out? What are we doing here? What’s your thought process in terms of the Jets? Just a normal conversation we have on a weekly basis. But nothing from that (contract) standpoint.”
    Aargh! Jed again wasting Kelly’s time talking football. No wonder Harbaugh used to insult and snub Jed — he does not tolerate fools gladly…

    1. Mood
      Remember Mike Dukakis bobble-heading in the Abrams Tank photo op?
      It’s like that. Hilarious.
      “Can I pull some levers? Can I? Can I? Oooooh, what’s that one do?”

  18. Dukakis just looked that part. Jed actually thinks he’s a football mind. Therein lies the Tragedy of the Niners — a worthwhile subject for a grand opera.

Comments are closed.