Black Monday, the time when NFL teams traditionally ax their coaches, has arrived. Black Monday in 2015 has a different feel, however, as three jobs were vacated before the clock even struck midnight. The Eagles fired Chip Kelly before Week 17, the Browns let it leak that both head coach Mike Pettine and GM Ray Farmer would be let go, and the 49ers ditched first-year coach Jim Tomsula almost immediately after they beat the Rams.
Kelly, for as bad as 2015 was, is still 26-21 as an NFL head coach with two 10-win seasons on his resume. Here are the jobs that are either open, or expected to be open, and how he fits.
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49ers
Kelly has reportedly already reached out to San Francisco about their open position, and he could be a blessing for the Niners. Kelly’s system may be exactly what the team needs to save the career of Colin Kaepernick, whom the team gave a big contract to and who subsequently imploded.
Chip Kelly's camp has reached out to 49ers to express interest in their HC opening, per league source. 49ers likely to at least consider it.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) January 4, 2016
Kelly has engineered a winning record with a combination of Michael Vick, Nick Foles, Mark Sanchez and Sam Bradford at QB, so Kaepernick looks like an actual upgrade. He’s a far better runner than Foles, Sanchez or Bradford, and he has a young stud at RB in Carlos Hyde to facilitate his up-tempo running game. The 49ers would be a very solid fit.
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Browns
The knee-jerk reaction is to link Kelly’s offense with Johnny Manziel, and conclude that the simplicity and tempo of Kelly’s system will fit Manziel, and help him reach his potential. That ignores Manziel’s constant distractions, and the potential that Cleveland is ready to abort the Johnny Football experience.
That would leave Kelly joining a team with a wretched defense, a front office in flux, and no answer at QB. Maybe Kelly could whip up this motley crew into a decent team, but after generating bad pub in Philadelphia, it’s hard to envision him willingly entering such a toxic wasteland.
Dolphins
This is interesting. The Dolphins’ roster is incomplete, but dotted with elite talent. Ndamukong Suh is one of the best defensive players in the league, Cam Wake is a top pass-rusher when healthy, and Jarvis Landry is a freak at wide receiver. Ryan Tannehill is salvageable, and with his ability to hurt teams on the ground, could be lethal in a Kelly-run offense.
Then again, he and Lamar Miller had no juice for much of 2015, and that was with Kelly’s former offensive coordinator Bill Lazor running the show. It looks like it would work on paper, but after firing Lazor in-season it’s unlikely they’ll go back to this well.
Giants
Tom Coughlin is expected to resign today – and avoid being fired – but there’s no place for Kelly here. The Giants’ front office is not going to invite a personality as strong as Kelly’s to take over, and the G-Men have no need to revamp their offense. Ben McAdoo helped Eli Manning orchestrate one of his best seasons ever, and he’s a strong choice to be elevated to the head coaching position.
Colts
Chuck Pagano is probably out in Indianapolis, but it’s another place where there’s no need for Kelly. Andrew Luck does not need a gimmicky offense, he needs someone to get out of his way. The Colts need a coach like the Jets’ Todd Bowles, who took over from the volatile Rex Ryan and instructed them in the ways of discipline. Indy needs that calming influence as well.
Titans
There are rumblings that the Titans might stick with Mike Mularkey at head coach. That makes no sense at all with Kelly, Marcus Mariota’s college QB, on the market. This is a match made in heaven. No QB is more suited to run Kelly’s offense than someone who already ran it, so the Titans have to at least investigate the possibility. Of any job available, Tennessee is the perfect spot for Kelly to land.
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