San Francisco 49ers head coach Chip Kelly and general manager Trent Baalke are expected to be relieved of their duties, according to league sources.
A combination of poor personnel and decision making has forced owner Jed York to seriously question the future of his franchise. In just two years the 49ers have had two head coaches who both finished last in the NFC West.
The worst part for San Francisco is that they have significantly regressed over that time period. In 2015 they finished 5-11 under Jim Tomsula. This year, the niners sit at 2-13 with an impending loss in Week 17 to the Seattle Seahawks.
San Francisco 49ers HC Chip Kelly and GM Trent Baalke Are Expected to be Fired
The 49ers are begging for the new year to forget the marks left by the tutelage of Kelly and Baalke. One of the biggest issues this season was the failure to bring in talent, especially at the quarterback position.
San Francisco started the year off behind quarterback Blaine Gabbert, who was incredibly ineffective going 1-4 in his five starts. His touchdown-interception ratio was 5-to-6. Following the Gabbert project entered Colin Kaepernick, who was inconsistent the rest of the year. At times, he looked agile, making big plays with his feet, but mostly he made costly bad throws that set his team back. In a snowy game against the Chicago Bears, he was benched after throwing four yards and in one of the worst passing performances in NFL history.
Overall, the San Francisco offense was futile. They ranked 27th in scoring (19.1 PPG), 29th in total yards (311.8 YPG), and last in the league in passing yards (181.3 YPG).
Other problems were exposed because of their lack of depth after keynote players like running back Carlos Hyde and linebacker NaVorro Bowman both went down with injuries. Back up players were unable to step up, inevitably causes major changes this off-season.
