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Chip Kelly’s All-Time Ranking Among San Francisco 49ers Head Coaches

By Bryan Knowles

January 20, 2016; Santa Clara, CA, USA; Chip Kelly (left) and San Francisco 49ers general manager Trent Baalke (right) address the media in a press conference after naming Kelly as the new head coach for the 49ers at Levi's Stadium Auditorium. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
January 20, 2016; Santa Clara, CA, USA; Chip Kelly (left) and San Francisco 49ers general manager Trent Baalke (right) address the media in a press conference after naming Kelly as the new head coach for the 49ers at Levi's Stadium Auditorium. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports /
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Jan 31, 2015; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Former head coach Steve Mariucci on the red carpet prior to the NFL Honors award ceremony at Symphony Hall. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 31, 2015; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Former head coach Steve Mariucci on the red carpet prior to the NFL Honors award ceremony at Symphony Hall. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports /

Mooch

Steve Mariucci (1997-2002)

Steve Mariucci was the first 49ers head coach I could really look at critically; I was too young in the Walsh and Seifert eras to really try to break down why they succeeded or why they failed; they were just the best.  Mooch wasn’t the best, and I always thought his rah-rah attitude would be a better fit encouraging college kids on Saturdays than working with millionaires on Sundays, but it’s very hard to argue with his track record. He inherited the dying days of the 49ers’ dynasty years and turned that into a couple playoff appearances; he then went through salary cap hell, rebuilt around a CFL castoff in Jeff Garcia, and turned in a couple more. His 57-39 record is really quite impressive; it would put him in the top 40 of all time had he not gone to Detroit and struggled there.

Of course, Mooch never even made a Super Bowl, so that’s the easiest way for Kelly to pass him in my rankings. If the 49ers win the Super Bowl, but don’t quite live up to that 13-3-esque record I outlined in the Harbaugh section, that’s enough to pass Mariucci. There’s enough of a gap between Harbaugh and Mariucci that winning the big game isn’t even necessary for Kelly to squeeze between them; a very good 11-5 or 12-4 season and a trip to the Super Bowl is more than Mariucci ever did, and would vault Kelly on top.

Kelly could even pass Mooch without a trip to Houston for Super Bowl LI, though it would require something insane like an undefeated regular season or something along those lines. Mariucci was very good, but not as untouchable as the people above him on the list.

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