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San Francisco 49ers head coach Chip Kelly met with Bay Area media for what is likely his final time following the team's 25-23 Week 17 loss to the Seattle Seahawks. He confirmed that there will be a meeting with ownership today to determine his fate.
49ers general manager Trent Baalke, who was at today's game, was reportedly informed on Friday that he would not return. Prior to the game, Baalke confirmed that he had been fired. Kelly will reportedly suffer the same fate, per a report on Saturday night by Adam Schefter of
ESPN.
Kelly had not yet learned that Baalke had been let go. "I didn't learn that Trent Baalke was fired," said Kelly. "I was just called last night. I heard the same reports and Jed just talked to me briefly and said he would talk to me today."
"I feel that if I was distracted by anything else, I wouldn't be giving [the players] what they deserve," Kelly said of the mentality going into the 49ers' final game of the season. "And they gave me everything every day so I've got to give it back to them. Those guys are awesome."
Kelly said that, prior to the game, no players asked him about his future. After the game, there were a lot of hugs between Kelly and the players.
"It's a bottom-line business," Kelly said of the reports. "We probably didn't win enough games."
Kelly said that he has never had any conversations with ownership or management about players or coaches and that he was never asked to make any changes to his staff. "They never told me who to play, who not to play," Kelly said. "We just coached the guys we had and did the best job we could."
Kelly ended his press conference by thanking the Bay Area media for their professionalism this season. "I do appreciate you guys," Kelly said. "I thought my first year here, the group of guys that I got to work with every day, Matt [Maiocco of
CSN Bay Area], Matt [Barrows of the
Sacramento Bee], the whole guys, Cam [Inman of
Bay Area News Group], Eric [Branch of the
San Francisco Chronicle], the rest of the group here, the guys that were here every day, Chris [Biderman of
USA TODAY] – it was awesome. I really appreciate you guys. I thought you were really professional and I enjoyed it. Thank you."
The San Francisco 49ers announced the signing of wide receiver Trent Taylor to a one-year deal, reuniting with the team's former fifth-round draft pick out of Louisiana Tech.
Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area was the first to report that the 49ers were discussing a potential reunion with Taylor. The receiver was part of head coach Kyle Shanahan and general manager John Lynch's first draft class in 2017 and spent his first four NFL seasons with the team.
The #49ers are talking with free-agent slot receiver/return man
The San Francisco 49ers are hosting several draft prospects this week as the deadline for pre-draft visits draws near. According to Aaron Wilson of KPRC2, the team will host former Western Kentucky wide receiver Malachi Corley on Wednesday.
Corley is expected to be a Day 2 pick. San Francisco owns two selections on Day 2—the No. 63 overall pick in the second round and the No. 94 overall pick in the third round. Currently, the receiver is visiting with the Seattle Seahawks.
Western Kentucky @WKUFootball receiver Malachi Worley
Ian Rapoport didn't offer much of an update on the ongoing contract negotiations between the San Francisco 49ers and their standout wide receiver, Brandon Aiyuk. However, the NFL insider emphasized one thing: The team is not entertaining trade discussions at this juncture.
Reacting to Aiyuk's decision to unfollow the 49ers on Instagram, Rapoport couldn't help but chuckle at the latest development. This practice has become commonplace among players who are unhappy with their contract situations. Wide receiver Deebo Samuel similarly took this action in 2022 before requesting to be traded just before the draft.
Things have yet to escalate that far with Aiyuk, but Rapoport sees his
With the 2024 NFL Draft less than a week away, it's common for the rumor mill to start churning, especially with players who are actively seeking a new contract. It was just two short years ago that WR Deebo Samuel requested a trade from the San Francisco 49ers prior to draft day, only for cooler heads to prevail and eventually agree to a new deal.
Now, it's WR Brandon Aiyuk's turn to try and get paid and rumors surfaced over the weekend that he too would request to be dealt. While that report was quickly shot down by his agent, there's still a lot of discussion about Aiyuk's future and if other teams will come calling on draft night.
Legendary columnist Mike Silver joined
