When the 49ers introduced Chip Kelly as their next coach in January, they seemed unconcerned by the disastrous ending of Kelly's tenure as the Eagles coach. So did Kelly, who told a scrum of reporters after the press conference that he didn't know if he even could be "significantly different" than he was in Philadelphia.
He did, however, admit that he was in the middle of an autopsy.
"Because I got fired, I look at it more like an autopsy," Kelly said. "So I'm in the middle of the autopsy right now, still looking at it -- sent some toxicology reports out."
Based on Kelly's recent comments, the results of that autopsy came back just fine. Here's an exchange from Kelly's recent Q&A with reporters:
Q: What, if anything, are you doing differently with the 49ers due to what you learned during your time with the Eagles?
A: "Put a lot more sunscreen on."
For what it's worth, it's actually been the coldest August in San Francisco since 1942, according to The San Francisco Chronicle. Then again, the 49ers actually play football in Santa Clara, so Kelly's in the clear.
This might be an unpopular opinion, but Kelly's uncompromising approach to coaching football is also in the clear. It can be tough to remember, but it wasn't all too long ago that Kelly was regarded as one of the league's top coaches. He won 20 games in his first two NFL seasons. He turned Nick Foles into a 27-touchdown, two-interception quarterback.
Despite how his time in Philadelphia ended -- poorly, a missed Christmas party was involved -- Kelly's disastrous final season involved a 6-9 record. That's not good, but it's not 3-13 bad.
Now, Kelly will be forced to rebuild a 49ers roster that simply lacks any sort of talent. But if Kelly manages to turn Blaine Gabbert into a 27-touchdown, two-interception quarterback, too, then he can skip as many holiday parties as he wants.
