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As San Jose Mercury News beat writer Cam Inman reported last week, if the 49ers hired Chip Kelly to resurrect Colin Kaepernick’s career, no one bothered to fill in the embattled quarterback of that plan.
Kaepernick was in Vail, Colorado, and was having physical therapy done on his left shoulder when news broke of Kelly’s hiring.
Neither Kelly nor the 49ers reached out to Kaepernick during the 11-day coaching search. Kaepernick, a source told Inman, is unsure how to react to Kelly’s hiring because he’s unsure whether Kelly sees him in the 49ers’ future.
“If somebody’s going to resurrect Colin Kaepernick, it is going to be Chip Kelly,” former 49ers quarterback Steve Young said on ESPN’s NFL Live.
Former 49ers coach Steve Mariucci called Kelly a “good hire” who “makes sense” in terms of rejuvenating Kaepernick.
“They didn’t want to have someone come in and discard Colin Kaepernick and his abilities and go in a different direction,” Mariucci said on NFL Network. “Chip’s offense will fit Colin Kaepernick’s abilities.”
During his introductory press conference today, Kelly was noncommittal when it comes to Kaepernick's future with the club.
"I've had a chance to meet Kap," Kelly said. "We have a lot of time. It's a process we'll go through."
General manager Trent Baalke, who will remain in charge of the 49ers’ personnel decisions, said late last season that the 49ers do not plan to part with Kaepernick. Baalke reaffirmed that stance two weeks ago, noting that his concern is not with an April 1 contract clause but rather getting Kaepernick ready for the offseason program, which can begin April 4.
As Inman reminded readers, if Kaepernick is still on the roster April 1, his $11.9 million contract becomes guaranteed. Kaepernick’s three-year run as the 49ers starter, including a Super Bowl appearance in the 2012 season, came to a halt at midseason when he got benched in favor of Blaine Gabbert.
“Obviously, Kap is an extremely talented football player and you need to have a good quarterback to win,” Kelly said today. “But I was also impressed in the film I watched in terms of how Blaine played this year, also. I think statistics bear out that you probably need two good quarterbacks in this league with the injury rate quarterbacks have. I think both of those players make this an attractive situation.”
As the Sports Xchange suggested, Gabbert was good enough to come off the bench and lead the team to three wins in eight starts. That's not bad. ... For a backup. But it's certainly not good for a starter. Of course, Kaepernick was even worse, winning twice in his eight starts.
Kaepernick went on injured reserve Nov. 21 because of a torn labrum in his left, non-throwing shoulder. He had surgery to repair that issue three days later.
He is expected to be fully healed for the 2016 season.
So, can Kelly save Kaepernick's 49ers career?
It sounds like Kelly thinks he can. NFL Network's Ian Rapoport recently reported that as Kelly plotted his next NFL stop, he was hatching plans to sign or trade for Kaepernick as his next quarterback project.
The first step will be getting Kaepernick's mind wrapped around Kelly’s scheme.
“(Kelly) asks you to have reflective recall,” Young said. “To do it really fast, you have to embed it in your brain, do a lot of studying despite the fact you’re turning plays over fast. That’s going to be Colin’s challenge.
“He’s going to have to go into the classroom, prove to Chip Kelly that ‘I can get embedded into my mind everything I need to do so that I have reflective recall.’ Look, we all know he physically has the software. It’s the hardware.”
Gabbert’s contract runs through 2016, and both he and Kaepernick have shown the mobility that could work well with Kelly’s offensive scheme.
“With Kaepernick’s ability to run the football, that takes care of problem No. 1,” NFL Network analyst Mike Mayock said. “Secondly, it’s very quarterback friendly as far as the pass game is concerned. There are a lot of fairly simple reads, I think Kaepernick can pick it up very quickly, and I think you’ll see a fairly efficient and effective Colin Kaepernick next (season).”
Kelly's innovative offense didn't realize its full potential in Philadelphia over the past two seasons because his quarterbacks lacked the running ability to stress defenses. If defenses don't fear the QB as a threat to take off and run, they will sell out to stop the tailback.
The Kelly-Kaepernick hiring should have a symbiotic effect in that regard. The opportunity is there for Kaepernick to recapture the dual-threat form that once moved ESPN's Ron Jaworski to rave that Kap could develop into "one of the greatest quarterbacks ever."
As NFL.com put it: "If Kelly ever lifts Kaepernick to that level, the 49ers will find themselves back in the playoffs, vying with Russell Wilson's Seahawks and Cam Newton's Panthers."
Other notes of interest. ... Baalke told reporters today that Carlos Hyde had foot surgery late in the season and should be good to go for the start of the 49ers offseason program.
And finally. ... During a Tuesday night appearance on NFL Network, LeSean McCoy was asked what he would tell current Niners players about Kelly.
"Every situation is different," McCoy said. "The one thing I will say about Chip is that he wants to win. He's very, very intelligent. The offense, they'll find ways to get the big numbers. They'll find ways to put the stats up offensively. With him coming in there, no matter how good of a player or low player you are, if you just automatically believe him -- no matter if it sounds crazy, you're like what is he talking about -- if you just automatically believe and buy in, I think you'll be fine."
That's telling advice coming from a player who didn't appear to buy in to everything the coach was selling.