Private Chip Kelly opens up about his late father
After wearing a suit throughout his career as a trial lawyer, Paul Kelly wanted to be buried in something a bit more comfortable. On Wednesday, Chip Kelly was asked if his dad was a longtime fan of the 49ers, or just recently adopted them after he revealed this: A day after returning from his father’s funeral in Portland, Maine, Kelly began his news conference by freely discussing his dad, who died Friday night at 87. Kelly, who is famously private, said he spoke with players such as wide receivers Torrey Smith and Jeremy Kerley about losing family members on Saturday night. Kelly, who has a wry sense of humor, said he was no match for his dad’s wit. The topic was raised when Kelly was asked about Oregon hiring South Florida’s Willie Taggart on Wednesday to be their next head coach. Kelly has been asked if he would consider returning to Oregon, where he was the head coach from 2009-12, on several occasions during the 49ers’ 1-11 season. At Oregon, Kelly said he didn’t speak with NFL teams about jobs until the Ducks had played in their bowl game. [...] I don’t know why a college question would ever come up with me because I would never leave my players before the season ended … The reason is this: I’ve always felt that the reporters that covered me were so intelligent that they would understand what I was saying.