I went to the wrong news conference on Wednesday. I went to the introduction of a football coach. When I read the papers this morning, I saw tht everyone else went to the canonizing of a saint. It was more than that. This guy Chip, who we’d met for about 30 minutes, convinced lots of journalists he’s as charming as Cary Grant as funny as Johnny Carson as smart as Albert Einstein as wily as Machiavelli as strong-willed as Winston Churchill. I mean, no one had ever seen anything like him before. To me he was just a football coach, and that’s a good thing. He’s not here to reinvent the nation.

I have only one question about him. Can Chip coach? Period. That we won’t know for months. I would add the burden of proof is on him and the 9ers. He won six games and got fired this season. The 9ers won 5 and fired their coach. One news conference does not a coach make, although it’s a first step.