Firings haven’t been handled with aplomb
Like many employees, Chip Kelly didn’t expect to be fired.
Unlike many employees, he didn’t receive the news from his employer.
Instead on New Year’s Eve, a day before his team’s regularseason finale, the 49ers’ head coach learned that he probably was leaving the same way Joe Fan did: It was reported by two national media outlets.
The reports led to a phone conversation that night with his boss, CEO Jed York, and their back-and-forth was not “warm and fuzzy,” NFL Network reported. Finally, after his final game, Kelly, about two hours away from his official dismissal, was asked about his reportedly testy talk with York.
His response: He was surprised a private chat became public knowledge.
“Is the NSA listening in on our phones?” said Kelly, who termed the conversation pleasant. “How does that come out?”
Kelly was employed only 354 days by the 49ers, but he shouldn’t have been shocked: Leaks and losses have marked a fall from grace that has included the clunky recent firings of Kelly and general manager Trent Baalke.
A day after their exits, York said he wanted the new regime to establish a “championship culture.” He invoked “culture” on 16 occasions while fielding a question about organizational leaks for the third straight we-just-fired-our-head-coach news conference.
Last week, Steve Young said on KNBR that “culture goes to the person that owns the team and that’s how you develop culture.” Now the question is: Will York, who has maintained he’s not the source of leaks, demand a culture that protects employees by keeping information in-house?
Since the 49ers’ last winning season in 2013, it’s notable that two of the franchise’s biggest names, Jim Harbaugh and quarterback Colin Kaepernick, have been undermined by national media reports.
The leaks probably have been a topic during the 49ers’ interviews with prospective head coaches and general managers, who are meeting with York and executive Paraag Marathe. Their next GM, after all, will supplant Baalke, who was painted in an unflattering light by a report that surfaced on the day his firing was announced.
On New Year’s Day, Fox Sports’ Jay Glazer said on air that it was Baalke’s decision in 2015 to hire Jim Tomsula instead of now-Miami head coach Adam Gase, who expected to join the 49ers: “Gase was getting everything all packed up and in the 11th-and-a-halfhour, he was informed that Trent Baalke went to ownership and had them make an about-face,” he said.
The timing was quite curious. It was a report of a yearold event, and it was dredged up a day before York met the media to explain why he’d just fired his third head coach in three seasons.
Will such stories have an effect on their searches? The 49ers have since conducted and scheduled interviews with respected candidates, but New England director of player personnel Nick Caserio declined their interview request. On Saturday, Yahoo Sports reported Caserio was advised to “steer clear” of the 49ers’ GM opening.
It could be because York has cleared out his head coach the past three years and subsequently faced questions about leaks.
In 2014, when reports about Harbaugh’s shaky job status and locker room preceded his firing, York said he wasn’t the source for the stories and didn’t know from where they originated: “I don’t read all of the reports. That’s just not my responsibility.”
In 2015, when Tomsula’s firing also was reported just before the 49ers’ regular-season finale, York said: “If I find people that are leaking information, they are not going to be a part of this team.”
Last week, regarding Kelly’s awkward exit, York suggested that national reporters had engaged in educated speculation, given the 49ers’ 2-14 season: “I wish that it would have been cleaner, but I think it was evident that we were considering making changes.”
Whatever the case, the front office showed it could change in 2016, at least when it came to Kaepernick.
In February, Kaepernick requested a trade partly because of a series of reports during 2015 that described him as being aloof and distant from teammates.
During the past season, however, York matched Kaepernick’s $1 million pledge to assist underprivileged communities shortly after the quarterback’s national-anthem stance became a national story in August. And the public support wasn’t offset by anonymous whispers during the season.
Last week, after the 49ers’ final game, Kaepernick noted the change.
“My relationship this year was much improved from years past with Jed and Paraag,” he said. “I think we have a great relationship now, and I was excited about that.”
It sounds as if York can develop a culture of trust with a player.
It remains to be seen if he can set the tone for the championship culture he’s seeking for his team.