Chip Kelly Says Belichick, Saban, Gruden, Dungy, And Parcells Reached Out

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Chip Kelly was introduced as the new head coach of the San Francisco 49ers during a press conference on Wednesday.

Kelly was asked to describe the kind of guy he is.

"I would say I'm a football guy, first and foremost," Kelly said. "I have kind of a quest and a thirst for just trying to improve and I think you can. One of the things that attracted me to coming to this part of the country, is it's probably the most fertile, creative ground around here. When you look at the companies and Silicon Valley and the whole Bay Area itself. I'm excited to be a part of it."

When asked about the reports indicating that he didn't get along with his players, Kelly said he's not worried about that perception.

"One of the things that struck me when I left Philadelphia was the text messages and calls I had from the players that we had there, really meant a lot to me," Kelly said on Wednesday. "And I'm not one that looks at what's reports, what's not reported. I'm a pretty black and white guy and when I talk about the relationships that I had with the players there and the many of them that reached out to me when this went down, I feel very very comfortable in terms of my relationships with my players there."

Kelly also mentioned coaches that reached out to him to offer advice and wish him well, like Bill Belichick, Nick Saban, Jon Gruden, Tony Dungy, and Bill Parcells.

"I think one thing all coaches know is we rent," Kelly admitted. "We rent out locker spaces. We're not gonna be places for an extended period of time. You just have to do the best job that you possibly can."

As for personnel control, Kelly said GM Trent Baalke will handle those duties.

The private football coach also reveled he has a golden retriever named Henry, something Philly folks never even knew.

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