News broke late Saturday evening that both 49ers general manager Trent Baalke and head coach Chip Kelly are expected to be fired at the conclusion of Sunday’s season finale against the Seattle Seahawks.
Baalke had apparently already been informed that his time with the 49ers was over on Friday, according to Jay Glazer of Fox Sports. 49ers ownership reportedly did not have the same conversation with Kelly, however, leading the San Francisco head coach to call owner Jed York last night to discuss the report according to Mike Silver of NFL.com
Chip Kelly called 49ers owner Jed York last night after reports broke of his impending firing. It was not a warm and fuzzy conversation.
— Michael Silver (@MikeSilver) January 1, 2017
Kelly arrived at Levi’s Stadium to coach Sunday’s game, and will reportedly have a meeting with ownership afterwards. It remains unknown if Kelly has any chance to keep his job based on how that meeting goes, or if York and Co. have already made their decision.
If Kelly is indeed fired, it would be the third coach (along with Jim Harbaugh and Jim Tomsula) in three years that York has let go after just one season. The 49ers have gone 2-13 under Kelly in 2016.