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Mike Freeman’s 10-Point Stance: Kaepernick Ordeal Reveals a Changed Chip Kelly
- Updated: September 7, 2016
(Chip Kelly might not be the same non-people person he was in Philadelphia. Oh, and let’s not forget my idiotic Super Bowl pick.)
1. Has Chip Kelly Changed?
To truly understand how well Kelly is handling the furor over Colin Kaepernick’s refusal to stand for the national anthem, you have to remember how bad he handled players in Philadelphia.
The Eagles’ Kelly was different. He was an X’s and O’s savant who didn’t seem to care all that much about developing relationships. He was, in fact, terrible at it.
One of the more blunt assessments of Kelly’s management style came from former Eagle-turned-Bronco Evan Mathis. Mathis wrote a scathing note to Mike Klis of 9News (via USA Today) in February.
“There were many things that Chip had done that showed me he wasn’t building a championship team,” Mathis wrote in his email. “Two of the main issues that concerned me were: 1. A never-evolving, vanilla offense that forced our own defense to play higher than normal play counts. 2. His impatience with certain personality types even when they were blue-chip talents. The Broncos team I was on would have eaten Chip alive. I don’t think he could have handled the plethora of large personalities.”
Kelly has denied this vehemently, but it’s clear that he got rid of DeSean Jackson because he didn’t like Jackson’s strong personality. He was accused of being a racist, though that wasn’t likely the issue. The issue was, again, communication.
“The biggest reason in which he’s not in Philadelphia any more is just his ability to communicate with the players,” Eagles safety Malcolm Jenkins told ESPN’s Michelle Beadle. “He’s not proactive enough to really get the pulse of the team, especially when you have the offseason that we had last year, where he’s getting rid of guys and making all these changes. When you have a situation like that, you have to be able to communicate with your players to instill confidence in them so they know that their jobs are secure, and that they can trust you. And that, it just wasn’t there.”
And now?
Kelly and the 49ers handled a complicated issue that captured the nation with deftness and tolerance. He did something I believed was impossible for him: He adapted.
Kelly learned from his previous stint and communicated better with his 49ers players, one player told me. The player said Kelly asked some of the team leaders what was the best way to proceed. Some of them, I’m told, suggested a team meeting. Then they had one.
This is not to suggest he’s now Martin Luther Kelly. He is, however, definitely different.
It’s possible—possible—that Kelly can be like Bill Belichick. When Belichick was in Cleveland, he was known to be, well, less communicative. Then he grew.
It may be fair to argue that Kelly was forced to adapt by unusual circumstances, but the 49ers player said that isn’t really the case. He insisted that Kelly had changed well before the Kaepernick protest.
I’m uncertain how long Kelly …
