Jim Tomsula was fired by the San Francisco 49ers just hours after the final game last season, after going 5-11 in his first and only campaign as the team’s head coach. Recently hired Chip Kelly was supposed to be a major upgrade, but hasn’t fared much better from a results standpoint so far, with the team off to a 1-6 start that has seen them look non-competitive for most of the season.
Most are placing the blame on general manager Trent Baalke for poor roster construction, but Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio isn’t giving Kelly a free pass either, telling KNBR 1050’s The Audible on Friday morning that if the former Oregon coach doesn’t at least match Tomsula’s win total from last year, he should be out on his can after Week 17.
“If Chip Kelly doesn’t get to 5-11, which was the Tomsula line – and I know you don’t like to have a revolving door of coaches and buyouts – but if Chip Kelly doesn’t at least do as well as the guy they ran out of town after only one year, how do you bring him back?”
Florio made it clear that Kelly wouldn’t be the only one who deserves to get the axe should the 49ers’ struggles continue, especially if the team doesn’t win another game, something Florio sees as a possibility.
“If it’s 1-15, how do they not get rid of everybody?”, Florio said. “The owner says hold me accountable, how do you hold him accountable, force him to sell the team?”
Listen to the full interview below.
