49ers coach Chip Kelly returns after father's funeral

SANTA CLARA - Coach Chip Kelly returned to the San Francisco 49ers on Wednesday after being away for two days for his father’s funeral and he got some hugs from his players as he walked out to the practice field.

Paul Kelly died at age 87 last Friday, apparently of a heart attack. Chip Kelly flew to Maine to be with his family immediately following Sunday’s game in Chicago and returned to the Bay Area on Tuesday night after attending the funeral.

“He just had a zest for life,” Chip Kelly said. “He was one of the happiest people you ever met. I think he really just enjoyed what he did. He was a lifelong learner. He had a thirst for knowledge and an insatiable appetite for information and he was just always fun to be around. He tried to show that and he really did. I think the people that ever were associated with him kind of thrived off of that from him.”

Paul Kelly was so loyal to his son that he wanted to be buried in a 49ers sweatsuit instead of a suit like he wore during his career as a trial lawyer.

Kelly told the team about his father’s death last Saturday night in Chicago and then coached the loss against the Bears before leaving for the funeral. Kelly said he spent extra time with players like Jeremy Kerley and Torrey Smith, who each dealt with the death of a brother during past seasons.

“I think he’s dealt with it better than I would have ever imagined,” Smith said. “It’s tough. It’s something I can relate to him on in terms of losing a family member during the season before a game. I know exactly how he’s feeling. Obviously, it was my brother and not my father but it’s tough and I think for us as players and even people on the outside, you sometimes forget that there’s a man behind that uniform or a man that’s coaching and they have real life problems just like everyone else.”

Kelly also said that he never talked with Oregon about returning to the school as coach after Mark Helfrich was fired last month. The Ducks hired Willie Taggart on Wednesday as their new coach.

Kelly said he would never look into another job while the season was still in progress because of lessons of commitment instilled in him by his father.

“I don’t know why college questions ever come up with me because I would never leave my players before the season ended and that’s what I’ve said all along and that’s the way I’ll always be,” he said. “So, if that precludes me from ever being involved in a college job, then that precludes me from ever being involved in a college job.”