Fansided

5 potential replacements for Chip Kelly in San Francisco

By John Buhler

Nov 27, 2016; Miami Gardens, FL, USA; San Francisco 49ers head coach Chip Kelly walks the sideline during the second half against Miami Dolphins at Hard Rock Stadium. The Dolphins won 31-24. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 27, 2016; Miami Gardens, FL, USA; San Francisco 49ers head coach Chip Kelly walks the sideline during the second half against Miami Dolphins at Hard Rock Stadium. The Dolphins won 31-24. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports /
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The San Francisco 49ers are reportedly going to fire head coach Chip Kelly and general manager Trent Baalke. Here are five replacements for Kelly in 2017.

According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, the San Francisco 49ers are expected to fire both head coach Chip Kelly and general manager Trent Baalke at the end of the 2016 NFL season. The 49ers regressed in 2016 in their first year under Kelly. Entering Week 17, the 2016 49ers were only able to beat the Los Angeles Rams twice for their two wins on the season.

If 49ers owner Jed York really does pull the plug on the Kelly experiment gone awry, here are five potential head coaching candidates the 49ers organization should consider for the vacancy.

Aug 11, 2016; Atlanta, GA, USA; Atlanta Falcons offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan before a game against the Washington Redskins at the Georgia Dome. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports
Aug 11, 2016; Atlanta, GA, USA; Atlanta Falcons offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan before a game against the Washington Redskins at the Georgia Dome. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports /

player. 44. . Offensive Coordinator. Atlanta Falcons. Kyle Shanahan. 5

The Atlanta Falcons had a strong 2016 NFL season with a historically dominant offense. Atlanta scored over 500 points in their first 15 games of the 2016 NFL campaign. The Falcons won the NFC South for the first time since 2012 and will begin their trek to Super Bowl 51 in January.

A major reason for the Falcons’ rise to prominence in 2016 has been the outstanding job of offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan. Atlanta was Shanahan’s fourth stop as an NFL offensive coordinator (Houston, Washington, Cleveland, Atlanta), but he finally put it all together with the Falcons to honestly push for a head coaching job.

The Shanahan zone blocking scheme will do wonders in the San Francisco ground game. Shanahan has shown that he can get the most out of his quarterbacks, everybody from Matt Schaub to Robert Griffin III to Brian Hoyer to Matt Ryan. Whomever the 49ers decide to trot out at quarterback will be better because of Shanahan in 2017.

There are three major snags for Shanahan going to be the next head coach for the 49ers: 1.) San Francisco is a grease fire that could consume a first-time head coach. Not ideal for Shanahan. 2.) Shanahan’s personality may not coalesce with the Bay Area media all that well. He can be condescending like Kelly and Jim Harbaugh were. Think Mike Nolan. 3.) Shanahan will get better job offers than San Francisco. The Los Angeles Rams and the Jacksonville Jaguars are better landings spots for this first-time head coach.