49ers hire Chip Kelly as new coach

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Whether you love him or hate him or are completely indifferent to the guy, the 49ers went big in hiring Chip Kelly as their new head coach Thursday.

Aah, who are we kidding? No sports fan is indifferent to Chip Kelly.

In Kelly, the Niners welcome one of the NFLs most potent lightning rods. His three years coaching the Philadelphia Eagles were either a thrilling success or a huge disappointment, depending on whom you talk to.

He is either an offensive genius or a defensive liability. He wants control over his teams roster, or hes perfectly content to focus on Xs and Os. Hes a wry wit. Hes an acerbic b**b. Hes a racist.

Its a good hire, said one NFL Network analyst, Steve Mariucci, who coached the 49ers from 1997-2002.

Foolish. Insane. Asinine. Backwards, said another, former NFL fullback Heath Evans. I have no clue what (general manager) Trent Baalke and (CEO) Jed York were thinking.

Theres no telling whether the 49ers can stagger away from the scene of last years 5-11 record under Jim Tomsula and become a playoff team once again under Kellys guidance. But its almost certain to be an entertaining show.

I think Chip Kelly is a very driven individual, particularly when it comes to football, said Nick Aliotti, who was the defensive coordinator at the University of Oregon when Kelly was the offensive coordinator and then the head coach there. Ill never forget when I was talking to Chip, and his main goal was to someday win a Super Bowl. So hes driven by that. He loves the game.

And the fact that he got back on the saddle three weeks to a month after getting fired, and going back into it, probably speaks volumes in his approach to show that he can get this done with his system, his way in the NFL.

Kellys way doesnt look like anybody elses. At Oregon he became famous for having assistants hold up picture placards on the sidelines everything from a jack-o-lantern to a toaster to the Burger King mascot to signal in plays, rather than relying on hand signals.

That was because hand signals are too slow. Kellys offense is built upon speed. His goal is to run as many plays as he can in as short a time as possible. His Oregon Ducks and his Philadelphia Eagles rarely huddled.

According to ESPN Stats & Information, the Eagles averaged one play every 23.1 seconds under Kelly, a good three seconds faster than any other NFL team.

The system puts tremendous strain on opposing defenses, preventing them from making substitutions and demanding they read formations and plays in a matter of seconds.

Its also a burden for his own defense. Kellys offense is on and off the field so fast, the guys on the other side of the ball rarely get to rest. Largely because of how many snaps they were forced to play, the Philadelphia defense never ranked higher than 28th out of 32 teams during his tenure there.

When we were at Oregon we played like a hockey team on defense, where you were substituting different guys every three or four plays if the tempo got to be too fast, said Aliotti, now a studio analyst for Pac-12 Networks. Thats something you have to make sure youre recruiting the right guys, drafting the right guys, and guys are in shape and guys are with you 100 percent. But it definitely can work.

Source: http://www.pressdemocrat.com/sports/5073817-181/49ers-hire-chip-kelly-as