San Francisco 49ers coach Chip Kelly says he was as shocked as anyone that Jarryd Hayne decided to retire from the NFL.
Speaking at a media conference, Kelly was asked if there was any chance the Australian might return to the 49ers.
“We didn’t even talk about that,” Kelly said.
“He just came in, met with Trent Baalke (49ers general manager) first, came down and explained what he wanted to do and that he was going to go and play for Fiji in the rugby sevens and thanked us for everything and that was kind of it.”
“But yeah, I was surprised. I had no idea he was thinking about that.”
Kelly praised the 28-year-old for his time with the 49ers and reiterated how impressed the whole franchise was with how quickly the Australian learned the game.