When you break up with someone, the tendency is to go for the exact polar opposite of what you had. The San Francisco 49ers have done just that with their hiring of Chip Kelly as their new head coach. If you didn't know about Kelly previous to his intro press conference, his dry sense of humor might come as a surprise. He is witty and quick with his responses as well as talking at a very high speed. Philadelphia fans and media, many of whom were watching the press conference, can attest to his frequent clever retorts. Here is the first of what we hope will be an ongoing feature on the site.
When asked about the delay in scheduling the introductory press conference:
I've been known to run a really slow offense and I wanted to just kind of set the tone for how things are going to be here in San Francisco.
When talking about self evaluation/self scouting his tenure in Philadelphia:
Because I got fired I look at it more as an autopsy. So I'm in the middle of the autopsy right now. I'm still looking at it. So I sent some toxicology reports out and we're going to see when they come back.
When asked about seeing the 49ers having a winning record:
Well, that's the goal. I don't think anybody goes into the season saying, "Let's get six."
When asked his preference on reading management type books:
One of the things that attracted me is coming to this part of the country, it's probably the most fertile, creative ground around here when you look at the companies in Silicon Valley and the whole Bay Area itself, I'm excited to be a part of it. I mean you walk to work this morning and you smell the air around here, you get smarter.
When asked about his management style:
I think I'm hands on. I think I lead with my feet, not my seat.
On what he would tell Colin Kaepernick if he could talk to him:
I would tell him that...I can't...because there are rules that we are governed by.
When asked about being borderline crazy in regards to football:
I don't know where the borderline crazy part comes in but I have a passion for the game.
When talking about the effects a hurry up offense has on a defense:
We get into the time of possession question and we've been in games where it was identical play snaps for us and our opponent. We won the game by seven but they had the ball for 10 more minutes than we did. SO, All I learned is than they stand around better that we stand around. It's still plays run. I've also never met a defensive player that says, "Coach, I want you to posses the ball for the entire game so I don't have to play."
When asked if he will call plays from the sideline or if the offensive coordinator will be calling them:
I'm going to call the good plays and I'm going to have the offensive coordinator call the bad ones, if I can.
When clarifying that one reason the press conference was delayed, was that he didn't have clothes with him:
I did have clothes on, let's not make this something weird.
If nothing else, this should be an entertaining season with press conferences like this.