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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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Nov 6, 2016; Santa Clara, CA, USA; San Francisco 49ers head coach Chip Kelly before the game against the New Orleans Saints at Levi's Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 6, 2016; Santa Clara, CA, USA; San Francisco 49ers head coach Chip Kelly before the game against the New Orleans Saints at Levi’s Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports /

Chip Kelly Didn’t Let the 49ers Dissolve into Chaos

The NFL is a wins-and-losses league. Nothing else matters.

Well, not exactly.

While the 49ers finished with the second-worst record in 2016 and where largely blown out of games early and often, Chip Kelly never lost track of his team. Just read the reports, especially like those from veteran left tackle Joe Staley.

“He’s done a great job of keeping us together,” Staley said of Kelly, via CSN Bay Area, at the end of the season.

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In contrast, just take a look at what the New York Jets were going through at the tail end of 2016 when their season came crashing down. They all but quit on head coach Todd Bowles, and it showed.

Maybe Kelly was a little too player friendly in 2016 — an attempt, perhaps, to redress some of the controversies he endured with the Philadelphia Eagles over the previous three seasons.

We may never know. But it would have been easy for the Niners to give up on Kelly when things started to go sour. And that happened very early in the year.

They didn’t though. That’s a credit to Kelly.

Next: Will 49ers Fans Revolt if Tom Cable Becomes Head Coach?

Even if the rest of the year was in the tank.