Chip Kelly has been putting out fires ever since he became head coach of the 49ers back in January.
Some of them have been mild conflagrations, just a few flickering flames. Some have been bonfires that turn up the temperature. And some have been roaring infernos, blazes that threaten to scorch the fabric of the 49ers and burn both Kelly and what he’s trying to accomplish as he sets a foundation in his debut season with the team.
But every time he’s faced with fire, Kelly seems to always look like a guy that doesn’t feel the heat. His expression doesn’t change. You don’t hear anything different in the tone of his voice. And you don’t see the guy sweat.
Kelly knows the fire drill. He Craig Masseiwas on a hot seat that reached scalding proportions during his three seasons in Philadelphia,particularly his final season with the Eagles last year to conclude his first attempt at coaching in the NFL.
Kelly obviously got a handle on managing such situations, because he’s been a very cool customer in handling all the drama and incendiary conditions that have threatened to have this 2016 season blow up in the 49ers’ faces before it even began.
But that’s what good coaches do. It’s what Jim Tomsula didn’t — or couldn’t — do last season. It’s what even a fading Jim Harbaugh couldn’t do in the twilight of his mercurial stay with the 49ers as Harbaugh’s three-year mini-dynasty began to crash and burn and crumble around him over the second half of the 2014 season.
Denne historien er fra October 2016-utgaven av Niner Report.
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Denne historien er fra October 2016-utgaven av Niner Report.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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EIGHT IS ENOUGH
Set 49ers lineup still has several new starters
Calling all cornerbacks
Loss of Verrett exposes 49ers’ thin depth at CB
Always finding their way to run
49ers system accomplished at developing homegrown talent
ANOTHER COMEBACK?
Resilient veteran Verrett to miss rest of season
TOP 10 Rookie running backs
THE BACK LIST
STOCK UP STOCK DOWN
DEOMMODORE LENOIR | AMBRY THOMAS
Will Mostert run for 49ers again?
Raheem Mostert was primed this year to be the centerpiece of one of the NFL’s most dynamic offenses, featured as the lead performer in San Francisco’s grinding rushing attack while making his climb among the league’s top running backs.
THE WONDER OF WARNER
49ers make All-Pro star highest-paid LB in NFL
Making the right choice at QB
In the weeks that follow after you read this — and perhaps sometime even sooner than that — Kyle Shanahan and the rest of the 49ers organization will make a titanic decision that will have present, future and perhaps even everlasting implications for the franchise. It will chart the course for the team’s pivotal 2021 season while determining whether San Francisco really does have the juice to return to powerhouse status and again be considered a legitimate contender to get back to the Super Bowl.
TOP 10 Linebacker seasons
Fred Warner vaulted to stardom with a spectacular 2020 season — and the 49ers rewarded him this summer with a $95.225 million deal that makes him the highest-paid inside linebacker in NFL history. By today’s standards, Warner’s performance last year was worth the money as he posted an Approximate Value of 19 — matching the highest score ever recorded by a San Francisco defender according to a Pro Football Reference formula that puts a single number on each player-season across all positions since 1960. Patrick Willis and NaVorro Bowman (twice) also had seasons with an AV of 19 as they dominate this list of the greatest individual seasons by a linebacker in 49ers history.
