The San Francisco 49ers might officially be in scramble mode. Hue Jackson elected to sign on with the Cleveland Browns, after numerous reports last weekend that he was high on the 49ers radar. The team reportedly never made a formal offer to him, so it is certainly possible they did not looooove him. But he is a notable candidate now off the market.
And that leaves the 49ers still trying to figure out who their next head coach will be. The first reported interview in this whole process was with former Philadelphia Eagles head coach Chip Kelly. There has not been much of anything said about Kelly since then, but Bay Area radio personality John Middlekauff had this to say:
Heard from multiple people today Chip Kelly is still in the mix for the #49ers. It's not dead like I once thought
— John Middlekauff (@JohnMiddlekauff) January 13, 2016
Earlier in the day, Adam Schefter made an appearance on a Philadelphia radio station, and he said that he believed Chip Kelly would not get a head coach position this year. He did not base that on anything specific, so make of that what you will.
A Kelly hiring still could make some sense. If he and Tom Gamble still have a good relationship, there is a chance they could make this work. It could also turn into a complete dumpster fire, but I would be willing to give it the benefit of the doubt entirely based on that reported relationship. And at the very least, if things go south, there is always the entertainment factor.