SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- The thinking, in the wake of Colin Kaepernick getting benched by the San Francisco 49ers this season, went something like this: if Kaepernick was indeed done in Santa Clara, his next most logical landing spot would be with the Philadelphia Eagles and Chip Kelly.

It would be that wide open offensive-minded Kelly, the thinking continued, who could finally unlock the mystery of Kaepernick and his unique skill set and best put him in positions to succeed.

Alas…

With Kelly getting fired by the Eagles on Tuesday, there goes that line of thinking. So where does Kaepernick, who is still recuperating from surgery to repair a torn labrum in his left (non-throwing) shoulder, end up in 2016?

Unless…

Yes, speculation has already begun on social media and turned into desire that the Niners part ways with Jim Tomsula after one season and make a run at Kelly to come to Santa Clara to fix Kaepernick in particular, the 49ers in general.

But…

Kelly wanted all personnel control in Philadelphia and, reports suggest, that was his ultimate undoing. And with Trent Baalke firmly entrenched as the Niners G.M., Kelly as football czar just is not going to happen.

Besides, the Tennessee Titans would seemingly be the front-runners for Kelly's services because, for one thing, they actually do have a head coaching vacancy. For another, the quarterback in Tennessee is a guy Kelly is already intimately familiar with in Marcus Mariota, who was recruited to Oregon by Kelly and played his freshman year with the Ducks under him.

And if you're thinking, so what, a Kelly-led Titans team with Mariota as quarterback would love to have Kaepernick as his backup, maybe you're on to something there as far as a potential trade goes.

Yeah, it's a huge leap. But a logical leap, right? One fueled by speculation, and a Niners-centric point of view.