Trent Baalke on being fired by Niners: 'It was the right thing to do'

— -- San Francisco 49ers general manager Trent Baalke confirmed to a local radio station Sunday that he has been fired.?

"It was the right thing to do," Baalke told KNBR Radio.

"You know, I've been here since 2005, and I have a lot of respect for the organization as a whole, and the ownership, the fan base. It's difficult, but it's the right thing to do."

ESPN's Adam Schefter reported Saturday that San Francisco was expected to make sweeping changes, dismissing both head coach Chip Kelly and Baalke.

When asked whether the organization needed sweeping changes, Baalke told KNBR: "Sometimes you need to reset the culture. When you have a winning culture, which we did in 2011, '12, '13 and '14, a lot of good football players. A lot of memorable games we went through together.

"Then you transition. At some point, those veteran guys move on. Blending in with younger guys, and sometimes it takes a little longer than you'd like. And this is probably one of those situations."

Baalke said he was not surprised by the firing.

"We've done some awful good things," he said. "Some very successful seasons. Unfortunately regret we weren't able to bring a championship to the Bay Area, which they so deserve. I think The Faithful has been great. Wish this organization nothing but the best moving forward. I do see a bright future for them."

Kelly said after the 49ers' 25-23 loss to Seattle on Sunday that he had a brief conversation with CEO Jed York on Saturday night. Kelly said he has not been informed of his status but said "nothing" would surprise him in terms of his future. Kelly and York are expected to meet Sunday night, at which point the expectation is that Kelly will be let go.

"I control what I can control," Kelly said. "All we can control is how we coach our players and what we do with them. If that's good enough, it's good enough. It it's not good enough, so be it."

The 49ers declined any comment.

Kelly has three years remaining on his contract and Baalke two.

It shapes up as another dramatic shakeup for the 49ers in which York and executive vice president Paraag Marathe will lead the search for replacements.

ESPN's Nick Wagoner and The Associated Press contributed to this report.