On Monday, Jay Glazer of Fox Sports reported that former 49ers head coach Chip Kelly was aware that former general manger Trent Baalke had been lobbying for his firing weeks before he was ultimately let go last Sunday.
On Wednesday, Kelly denied that report to CSN Bay Area’s Matt Maiocco, claiming that he and Baalke had a good relationship, and that he’s not one to spread stories through the media.
“I enjoyed my interaction with Trent,” Kelly told CSNBayArea.com. “I thought we had a good working relationship. You saw us on the practice field. We talked a lot and got along. I don’t know why people are talking about this.”
Glazer initially said on Fox Sports 1’s Speak for Yourself that he spoke with Kelly, who told him that he knew Baalke had been “for weeks and weeks and weeks….trying to undermine him and get him out.” Glazer later clarified (or changed) his report, saying that the information didn’t actually come directly from Kelly, but rather from sources close to the situation.
“That’s not the way I do things,” Kelly said. “I don’t talk about other people. If you want to talk to me about my team, I’ll do that. But I never get into that kind of nit-picking. You saw me all year. I don’t talk about stuff like that. I coach the guys.”
Baalke has faced similar accusations of trying to undermine sitting head coaches, and reports surfaced during the firings of Mike Singletary, Jim Harbaugh and Jim Tomsula that Baalke played a part in their removal. During CEO Jed York’s press conference on Monday, he mentioned that he did not think the Kelly-Baalke partnership was a good match, citing that Kelly is offensively inclined, while Baalke’s expertise is on the defensive end.
Kelly declined to comment on weather he thinks he got a fair shake in San Francisco.
“My feelings are, it is what it is. It’s over,” Kelly said. “I’ve moved on. I look forward to the next step. I don’t look at the past and try to figure it out. It’s already happened.”
“I’m not going to close the door on any opportunity, but I have to be very smart in what I do next,” Kelly continued. “I don’t have to take anything, but I wouldn’t rule anything out. I need to make sure that I’m in the right situation.
“I don’t know what the future holds. I’ll do my due diligence. I’m not going to coach just to coach.”