49ers Hire Chip Kelly as Head Coach

The 49ers on Thursday hired Chip Kelly to become the organization's seventh head coach of the past 15 years.

CEO Jed York made the announcement on Twitter:

"We are thrilled to announce Chip Kelly as the new head coach of the San Francisco 49ers," York said in a press release. "Chip has a proven track record at both the college and NFL levels that speaks for itself. We believe strongly that he is the right man to get this team back to competing for championships. I look forward to watching Trent and Chip work closely to build a team that will make us all proud."

The team plans to wait until next week to hold an introductory press conference at Levi's Stadium, "due to scheduling conflicts and to allow Coach Kelly the ability to focus on constructing his coaching staff," according to a press release issued by the 49ers.

"Chip possesses all the qualities we were looking for in our next head coach," GM Trent Baalke said. "He has demonstrated the ability to be innovative everywhere he has coached and has had great success throughout his career. Chip's passion for the game and vision for the future of this team clearly stood out to us during the search process. He is an extremely driven individual that I look forward to working with."

#49ers hire Chip Kelly as 20th head coach in franchise history. #WelcomeCoachKelly https://t.co/uJMLZgO0rd pic.twitter.com/eAyktBZ06H

— San Francisco 49ers (@49ers) January 14, 2016

After a thorough search, Trent & I are thrilled to announce Chip Kelly as the new #HeadCoach of the @49ers

— Jed York (@JedYork) January 14, 2016

Guess I might have to start running right now to get in shape

— Torrey Smith (@TorreySmithWR) January 14, 2016

"I would like to thank Jed, Trent, and the York family for this tremendous opportunity to be the head coach of the San Francisco 49ers," Kelly said. "As one of the most historic franchises in the National Football League, I realize the high standards and expectations that this position demands and I embrace the challenges ahead. My immediate focus is to build the best coaching staff possible, one that will maximize the abilities of each of our players and put us in the best position to win football games."

Kelly, whom the Philadelphia Eagles fired on Dec. 30 with one game remaining in the season, interviewed with 49ers general manager Trent Baalke and CEO Jed York last Thursday and agreed to the job after the 49ers conducted a 11-day coaching search.

"We're in need of somebody that can win Super Bowls," York said on Jan. 4, one day after the club fired Jim Tomsula after one season.

Kelly was chosen for the job over former Washington and Denver coach Mike Shanahan, 63, who was also a candidate for the 49ers' opening last year. Shanahan won two Super Bowls with the Broncos, but produced just one playoff victory in his final 14 seasons as a head coach.

Kelly, 52, was 26-21 with the Eagles after replacing Andy Reid in 2013. The Eagles had back-to-back 10-6 seasons in his first two years. Near the end of his tumultuous third year in Philadelphia, Kelly was fired with a 6-9 record.

The other known candidates for the job beside Shanahan were former New York Giants coach Tom Coughlin, Cincinnati offensive coordinator Hue Jackson, Buffalo assistant head coach/running backs Anthony Lynn, Cleveland offensive coordinator John De Filippo and Tampa Bay offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter. The Cleveland Browns hired Jackson on Wednesday.

The coaching search was Baalke's third in his five years as general manager. Kelly is just the second hire in 49ers history with previous experience as a full-time NFL head coach. The 49ers hired Dennis Erickson in 2003 after he coached the Seattle Seahawks from 1995 to '98.

"I think experience in anything matters," Baalke said on Jan. 4. "I think you learn from everything you do. And sometimes you're going to make the right decision. And sometimes you're going to make the wrong decision. And I've done both.

"We hired Jim Harbaugh and we hired Jim Tomsula. Some would say that one was a strong hit and the other was a miss. That's the game we're in. You're going to make mistakes. If you learn from them, that's what you hope to do."

The 49ers will be hoping Kelly can restore the organization to the on-field success it enjoyed during Harbaugh's time with the team.

Harbaugh took the 49ers to the NFC Championship game in each of his first three seasons, including one Super Bowl appearance. The 49ers and Harbaugh spoke about a contract extension over two years but never came close to reaching an agreement.

As the relationship between Harbaugh and 49ers ownership and management continued to sour in 2014, the 49ers also struggled on the field. The team lost four games in a row late in the season to fall out of playoff contention. Just moments after the team's final game, the 49ers announced a "mutual parting" with Harbaugh, who already knew he was out with the 49ers and had agreed to become head coach at Michigan.

The 49ers made the highly questioned move of replacing Harbaugh with Tomsula, the team's defensive line coach the previous eight seasons. Tomsula was chosen ahead of Adam Gase, whom the Miami Dolphins hired as head coach on Saturday. Tomsula had a rough beginning with a clunky introductory press conference last January and things never got much better.

The 49ers experienced a dramatic roster turnover, punctuated by the retirements of Patrick Willis, Chris Borland, Justin Smith and Anthony Davis. The 49ers stumbled to a 5-11 record, including a 19-16 overtime victory against the St. Louis Rams in front of a half-full Levi's Stadium in the season finale.

Through most of the season, Tomsula was believed to be on solid footing to receive a second season. But just hours after the team's Jan. 3 finale – and four days after Kelly became available -- the 49ers announced the firing of Tomsula and began their search for his replacement.

"We want somebody that has leadership ability and a clear vision of what the San Francisco 49ers are and a clear vision on how to get us back to a championship caliber," York said of what the organization was seeking from their next coach.

Kelly becomes that next head coach.

Before his three seasons with the Eagles, Kelly coached four years at Oregon, where his up-tempo offense was the hallmark of his teams that posted a 46-7 record. Kelly's team lost to Cam Newton's Auburn Tigers in the 2010 BCS Championship game and earned two trips to the Rose Bowl.

Kelly assumed control over Philadelphia's personnel decisions last year. He traded quarterback Nick Foles to the St. Louis Rams for Sam Bradford and sent running back LeSean McCoy, who rushed for more than 2,900 yards the previous two seasons, to the Buffalo Bills. The Eagles also cut outside linebacker Trent Cole and guard Evan Mathis.

In the 2014 offseason, Kelly was responsible for releasing wide receiver DeSean Jackson just months after he had 1,332 receiving yards and nine touchdowns.

Eagles CEO Jeffrey Lurie explained the firing of Kelly in a letter to fans on the team's website. "I spent the last three seasons evaluating the many factors involved in our performance as a team. As I watched this season unfold, I determined that it was time to make a change."

One of Kelly's strongest allies with the Eagles was Tom Gamble, whom the club fired as vice president of player personnel in December of 2014. Gamble rejoined the 49ers last year as senior personnel executive under Baalke.

While Baalke maintains contractual power over the 49ers' 53-man roster, York said Baalke would collaborate with the new coach on key personnel decisions.

"I think it's got to be something that those two work together on," York said. "It's very clear you can't have one person have 100-percent say and not have input from the other. You need to make sure that there's a great relationship between your head coach and your general manager and they need to sit down and figure out how do we evaluate the roster together and how do we make sure that we continue to improve this team."

Baalke said this is not a new philosophy. In the past, he worked with coaches Mike Singletary, Harbaugh and Tomsula on those decisions.

"I don't sit in that room with a gavel and slam it down and say, ‘That's what we're doing,'" Baalke said. "Every coach that's been here has had a great opportunity to have input. Whether it's the draft, whether it's free agency, whether it's impending trades, there's no iron fist in this organization.

"At the end of the day, a decision has to be made and you have to make it, but you hope you come to the conclusion that it's the right decision for everybody and that's what you try to do."

One of the first decisions that must be made is how to proceed at the quarterback position.

Colin Kaepernick remains under contract to the 49ers through 2020. Kaepernick was benched last season after underperforming through eight games. He is due $14.3 million in salary and bonuses in 2016.

Kaepernick is rehabilitating from surgeries on his non-throwing shoulder, right thumb and left knee. His $11.9 million base salary is guaranteed for injury only, but if he remains on the roster on April 1, his salary becomes guaranteed.

The 49ers' search focused on offensive-minded coaches after a season in which offensive coordinator Geep Chryst struggled to get production from his unit. The 49ers ranked 31st in total yards and 32nd in scoring at 14.9 points per game – the lowest in the NFL since the Kansas City Chiefs averaged 13.2 points in 2012.

The Eagles ranked second and fifth in total offense in Kelly's first two seasons before falling to No. 12 in the league last season.

Matt is the 49ers Insider for CSNBayArea.com. Follow him @MaioccoCSN.