Numerous Saturday evening reports said the San Francisco 49ers were going to fire head coach Chip Kelly and general manager Trent Baalke. On Sunday, FOX Sports NFL reporter Jay Glazer weighed in. He reported that Trent Baalke was informed he would be fired two days ago, but that Chip Kelly has not been informed yet, but will meet with ownership after the game. I missed the report, but the tweet below was retweeted by Glazer.
.@JayGlazer reporting Trent Baalke was informed of his firing two days ago. Chip Kelly hasn't been informed yet, per report. #49ers
— Peter Panacy (@PeterPanacy) January 1, 2017
When Jay Glazer chimes in on a subject with some original reporting, we can add even more credibility to it. I don’t think anybody doubted this was going to happen, but Glazer regularly offers up the most air-tight information. On Saturday, Jennifer Chan reported she heard Kelly’s agent expected the firing to happen, but it would appear he has not been formally told.
Last night’s leak is just another in the round of apparent front office leaks that have been a problem for this organization dating back to the end of the Harbaugh years. It is possible somebody outside of Jed or one of his people leaked this information, but given the organization’s recent history, it’s hard to give him the benefit of the doubt.
If that is how this has gone down, it’s pretty unprofessional and a sign of someone who lacks real leadership skills. It is another reason it is hard to get to excited about how this whole process might turn out. Maybe things work out because as Sidney Dean once said, “Even the sun shine’s on a dog’s ass some days, Bill Ho.” But until we see actual production, I’m not getting my hopes up.