Can Kelly Resurrect Kaepernick's Career?

Chip Kelly, former head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles, has signed a 4-year, $24 million deal with the San Francisco 49ers. Questions immediately arise. Will Kelly have complete control of personnel as he did in Philly? What assistants will Kelly add to the team? Kelly's prolific offensive schemes did not bring a playoff win to Philly, will it be different in San Fran? The most intriguing question is can Chip Kelly resurrect Colin Kaepernick's career in San Francisco?

Kelly's three year stint with the Eagles was forgettable. Things didn't work out well primarily because Philly did not have the dual-threat quarterback that Kelly was so accustomed to owning. Without having a mobile quarterback, Kelly still managed to make the most out of the quarterbacks who played under his high-tempo system. Take Nick Foles for example. As a starter, Foles threw 40 touchdowns to just 12 interceptions under Kelly's system. Take into account what Foles is doing now in St.Louis, and you'll soon realize how easy it is to play quarterback for Chip. In St. Louis, Sam Bradford managed to complete 58 percent of his passes. In Kelly's system, Bradford completed 65 percent of his passes. What both of these QBs were lacking was the threat to run the football. An offense centered around the zone read will struggle to work unless the quarterback running it possesses the ability to take off and run. Plain and simple, Kelly has the formula for success on the offensive side of the field. 

Before Kelly's firing, there were reports that the coach wanted to bring Kaepernick to Philadelphia. The roles have been reversed. Kelly has returned to the West Coast and now with quarterback who fits his mold perfectly. 

Kaepernick proved he can run a zone-read offense. He did so and had much success with Jim Harbaugh as head coach. Everything went down-hill when 49er coaching staff attempted to develop Kaep' into a pocket-passing quarterback. Kaepernick seemingly could not handle what it takes to be a pure pocket passer. His mechanics took a hit. He was not throwing the ball accurately as a result, and most of all his decision-making has digressed. 

Chip Kelly's offense will not ask him to do so much.  The Eagles offense ran fairly simple reads that often only required the quarterback to read half the field. This is why Bradford and Mark Sanchez saw dramatic rise in completion percentage. A comfortable and confident Colin Kaepernick is the best Colin Kaeperenick. 

Kaepernick is tailor-made for this offense. However, there are no guarantees in the NFL. It is to be expected that we will see the Kaepernick of old in San Fran. Everything looks crystal clear on the chalkboard. Still, let us not forget about the three stout defenses that share the same division with the 49ers. It's one thing to have everything down on paper, and another thing to actually display that on the field. 

Will Kaepernick be back as an elite dual-threat quarterback? For Kelly and General Manager Trent Baalke's sake, they sure hope so.