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San Francisco 49ers: Former Head Coach Chip Kelly Deserves Some Credit for 2016 Efforts

By Peter Panacy

January 1, 2017; Santa Clara, CA, USA; San Francisco 49ers head coach Chip Kelly looks on before the game against the Seattle Seahawks at Levi's Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
January 1, 2017; Santa Clara, CA, USA; San Francisco 49ers head coach Chip Kelly looks on before the game against the Seattle Seahawks at Levi's Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports /
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November 6, 2016; Santa Clara, CA, USA; San Francisco 49ers head coach Chip Kelly (left) talks to quarterback Colin Kaepernick (7) during the third quarter against the New Orleans Saints at Levi's Stadium. The Saints defeated the 49ers 41-23. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
November 6, 2016; Santa Clara, CA, USA; San Francisco 49ers head coach Chip Kelly (left) talks to quarterback Colin Kaepernick (7) during the third quarter against the New Orleans Saints at Levi’s Stadium. The Saints defeated the 49ers 41-23. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports /

Chip Kelly’s Work with Colin Kaepernick

Let’s start by saying it’s probably best the 49ers move on from quarterback Colin Kaepernick this offseason.

And fans will never know if Chip Kelly could have been the quarterback “whisperer” to get Kap’s career back on track. Yet for the brief amount of time we saw the two work together, it’s safe to say the embattled quarterback looked much better than anything seen since 2013.

Take a look at Kaepernick’s passing numbers from 2016 compared to previous seasons:

Passing Table
Year Age Tm Pos No. G GS QBrec Cmp Att Cmp% Yds TD Int Int% Lng Y/A Y/C Rate Sk
2011 24 SFO 7 3 0 3 5 60.0 35 0 0 0.0 19 7.0 11.7 81.2 0
2012 25 SFO qb 7 13 7 5-2-0 136 218 62.4 1814 10 3 1.4 57 8.3 13.3 98.3 16
2013 26 SFO QB 7 16 16 12-4-0 243 416 58.4 3197 21 8 1.9 64 7.7 13.2 91.6 39
2014 27 SFO QB 7 16 16 8-8-0 289 478 60.5 3369 19 10 2.1 80 7.0 11.7 86.4 52
2015 28 SFO QB 7 9 8 2-6-0 144 244 59.0 1615 6 5 2.0 76 6.6 11.2 78.5 28
2016 29 SFO QB 7 12 11 1-10-0 196 331 59.2 2241 16 4 1.2 65 6.8 11.4 90.7 36
Career 69 58 28-30-0 1011 1692 59.8 12271 72 30 1.8 80 7.3 12.1 88.9 171

Provided by Pro-Football-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 1/17/2017.

One number should stand out — his touchdown-to-interception ratio of 16 to four. And his overall passer rating (90.7) was the highest it had been since the 2013 season.

True, Kap had some major second-half woes in games. But it’s pretty obvious he performed much better under Kelly’s tutelage than the 2015 tandem of offensive coordinator Geep Chryst and quarterbacks coach Steve Logan.