Joe Staley is playing under his fifth head coach in San Francisco. He hopes there won't be a sixth.
The veteran left tackle went out of his way this week to back Chip Kelly, whose two-win team would tie a franchise record if they fail to upset the Seahawks on Sunday.
"Look at the team. He's done a great job of keeping us together," Staley said of Kelly, per CSN Bay Area. "We got to hold up our end of the bargain as players, as far as executing better. You see the stuff we're doing, and a lot of it is self-inflicted wounds. I think he's been awesome for us this year, and I'd love to have him back."
Kelly has failed to turn his hand-crafted, run-heavy offense into a winner this season. Ranking 29th in yardage and 27th in scoring, the woebegone 49ers have shown little ability to mask a defense allowing an NFL-worst 30.3 points per game.
Staley emphasized the "awesome" advantage of keeping a coaching staff in place -- especially after Kelly's predecessor, Jim Tomsula, was bounced after just one season -- but he understands that extensive changes could be ahead.
"We're in a results-based business, and I'd much rather have a team that's fractured and apart and be 13-3, than be a team that's together and be 2-14," Staley said. "At the end of the day, it's all about coming out of it with a win, and we have to do a better job of winning, obviously."
The questions in San Francisco stretch beyond Kelly to the fate of longtime general manager Trent Baalke, whose fingers are all over one of the NFL's thinnest rosters. If Baalke is sent packing, it's anyone's guess what happens to Kelly.
If it were up to Staley, though, less firings and more continuity would do the trick.
