Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports
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."
San Francisco 49ers defensive tackle Javon Kinlaw only played 39 snaps during Sunday's Week 1 loss to the Arizona Cardinals. Still, he walked away with the team's fourth-highest grade from Pro Football Focus. Only tackle Trent Williams, pass rusher Nick Bosa, and linebacker Dre Greenlaw earned higher grades.
Not only that, but Kinlaw earned the third-highest Week 1 grade among NFL rookies. Only Chase Young of Washington and C.J. Henderson of the
Whenever running back Frank Gore plans to call it a career, he plans to do so as a member of the San Francisco 49ers. That will likely come on a one-day ceremonial deal so that he can retire with the team that drafted him 15 years ago.
To anyone who follows the 49ers, they already knew this. What Gore, the team's all-time leading rusher, told NBC Sports Bay Area this week is that he's already had a discussion with 49ers CEO Jed York about the plans, and the two sides agreed to make sure it happens.
"We talked about that," Gore said. "I got to. That's the team that gave me the opportunity to do something I always wanted to do when I
The San Francisco 49ers typically fly out of San Jose International Airport for road games and were set to do so for this two-game stint on the East Coast. Their plans changed, however, when the plane was found to be damaged, forcing the entire team to travel north and leave out of San Francisco International Airport, according to an on-air report by FOX.
The 49ers plan to stay on the East Coast between their two games at MetLife Stadium. The team has a comfortable lead late in the fourth quarter against the New York Jets and will return to play the New York Giants in one week.
The team will stay and practice at The Greenbrier in West Virginia this week.
Despite likely departing with a win, the 49ers have to be concerned after several players
