Chip Kelly may not have learned from his past mistakes and appears to be doomed repeating them.
Amid ongoing reports about Kelly's failures to communicate as coach of the Eagles, he now is showing an unwillingness to open communication lines with embattled 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick.
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"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 of these changes," Eagles safety Malcolm Jenkins told ESPN's SportsNation via csnphilly.com. "When you have a situation like that, you have to be able to communicate with your players and instill confidence in them that their jobs are secure, that they can trust you. It just wasn't there."
Kelly landed the 49ers coaching position with external expectations of him developing a plan to resurrect Kaepernick's career. But the coach was noncommittal about Kaepernick during his introductory news conference, and a recent report of Kaepernick's interest in playing for the Jets suggests Kap might want a clean break from the organization.
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Kelly may rationalize that the 49ers other quarterback, Blaine Gabbert, was a higher draft pick in the 2011 draft than Kaepernick. The Jaguars took Gabbert with the 10th pick, while San Francisco selected Kaepernick in the second round with the 36th overall selection.
But it's safe to say that, despite his recent struggles, Kaepernick's career so far has dwarfed Gabbert's. Three years ago, Kaepernick was Cam Newton -- a young quarterback on the verge of superstardom.
Common sense would dictate that Kelly engage Kaepernick to find out whether he can bring out the Kaepernick of old. Kaepernick has a Super Bowl appearance on his résumé; Gabbert has been the starter only on losing teams.
That's what made the 49ers' hiring of Kelly make sense in the first place. If Kelly allows Kaepernick to leave, there's a chance both could succeed. But both are coming off recent failures.
Opposing defensive coaches have talked about how scary a reborn Kaepernick could be in Kelly's system. Kaepernick would be remiss to not at least talk to Kelly.
But Kaepernick has reason to have soured on the organization. Kelly has no reason not to communicate with Kaepernick in an attempt to save both their careers.
That is, if Kelly learned anything from his time in Philadelphia.
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