One of the biggest questions raised since the San Francisco 49ers hired Chip Kelly is related to the dynamic between Chip Kelly and Trent Baalke. There is a common belief that Kelly wanted personnel power in Philadelphia, and how exactly will he get along in San Francisco where Trent Baalke is supposed to have all the power.
Kelly said he was entirely comfortable with Trent Baalke having control over the 53-man roster, and that he just wants to be a football coach. Of course, a lot of people don't believe that will be the case, and maybe it won't. We don't know for certain how this whole relationship will play out, but we do know that there is a potentially key figure who can hopefully smooth the way has needed.
Tom Gamble was referenced repeatedly during the press conference. We've talked about him since word first dropped that the 49ers were interviewing Kelly, Jed York (transcript), Trent Baalke, and Chip Kelly (transcript) both mentioned him on Wednesday, and Kelly mentioned him again on Thursday in his KNBR interview.
Gamble was the guy who brought these two sides together. More importantly, as Trent Baalke said, Gamble can operate as a "bridge" between everybody. He has worked with Baalke the past year and before he went to Philadelphia, and he worked with Kelly for two years in Philadelphia.
I don't know what the final outcome will be like when we are looking back in however many years, but Gamble seems like he will be the key figure in this whole situation. Kelly has said he just wants to coach, but he'll obviously have opinions about personnel. He'll voice some, but he also has Gamble as a potential voice when they agree on certain players. It could give Kelly more say than "just coaching", without rocking the boat too much.
One way it could also get interesting is if Trent Baalke were eventually fired. Gamble would seem to be next in line for the general manager job if things did not work out with Baalke. This coming year is going to prove key. Ideally things work out and all three remain, but it is an intriguing situation, to say the least.