Chip Kelly

Oregon football Coach Chip Kelly is finalizing a deal to become the Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach, various media outlets reported Sunday. Kelly met with the Buccaneers last week, and both sides are hopeful an agreement can be reached within the next 24 to 48 hours, the Tampa Bay Times reported. Kelly has been Oregon's head coach for three years, winning the Pac-12 or Pac-10 Conference title in all three and reaching three Bowl Championship Series games. Kelly, 48, would make the jump to the NFL if a financial agreement can be reached, a source told KGW in Portland on Sunday night.

Matt Barkley gets his first real taste of the NFL when the Philadelphia Eagles' rookie mini-camp opens Friday. Many fans and NFL draft prognosticators were shocked when new Eagles Coach Chip Kelly drafted the former USC quarterback. But USC Coach Lane Kiffin was not. Kiffin said Monday that Kelly spoke with him about Barkley "early on" in the evaluation process and later sent the Eagles' quarterbacks coach to Southern California to work out the Trojans' four-year starter.

Oregon football Coach Chip Kelly announced Monday that he's remaining with the Ducks, though he says he was flattered by the interest shown in him by the NFL's Tampa Bay Buccaneers. "I enjoyed meeting with the Glazer family and General Manager Mark Dominik , but after numerous discussions, I concluded that I have some unfinished business to complete at the University of Oregon," Kelly said in a statement released through the school. Oregon Athletic Director Rob Mullens said Oregon granted Tampa Bay permission to talk with Kelly.

The University of Oregon has acknowledged major NCAA violations in connection with football recruiting and proposed a self-imposed two-year probation with the loss of one scholarship in each of the next three years, according to documents released by the school. The revelations were made in a summary disposition report included in the documents released Monday night. The contents were first reported by KATU-TV in Portland. Oregon and the NCAA have failed to come to an agreement on the matter and the case is expected to go before the infractions committee at some point this year.

The University of Oregon has acknowledged major NCAA violations in connection with football recruiting and proposed a self-imposed two-year probation with the loss of one scholarship in each of the next three years, according to documents released by the school. The revelations were made in a summary disposition report included in the documents released Monday night. The contents were first reported by KATU-TV in Portland. Oregon and the NCAA have failed to come to an agreement on the matter and the case is expected to go before the infractions committee at some point this year.

Mark Helfrich, the 39-year-old offensive coordinator who helped orchestrate Chip Kelly's high-powered offense, has been promoted to coach. Helfrich, an Oregon native, began his coaching career with the Ducks in 1997 as a graduate assistant from Southern Oregon. He made his mark as a quarterbacks coach, with stops at Boise State (1998-2000), Arizona State (2001-05) and Colorado (2006-08) before returning to Oregon in the same capacity. “Going forward we will attack in all phases.

It's all about Duck dignity and Duck power. The Oregon Ducks have been the finest football team in America for the last year and have never quite gotten the credit for how good they are. Watching them play is like watching a video game ? they score and score and score. Six quarters instead of four would be great. Chip Kelly is a great head coach. The Ducks are able to recruit now and get the best athletes. When I was there, we had trouble getting the best athletes in the state to come to Oregon.

Oregon running back LeGarrette Blount , who was suspended for the season after punching a Boise State player in the wake of the season opener, has been allowed to rejoin the Ducks. The university requested Blount's reinstatement, which was approved by Pacific-10 Conference Commissioner Larry Scott on Monday. Blount will be able to play for the No. 14 Ducks on Saturday night when they play host to Arizona State. He missed eight games. Blount issued a statement saying he was grateful to Oregon Coach Chip Kelly for giving him a second chance.

This isn't a myth or a theory or conjecture or a hypothesis -- it's the inconvenient truth. Five of Chip Kelly's six losses as Oregon's head football coach have come when his opponent has had more than a week to prepare for the Ducks' rapid-waddle offense. "It's an annoying little fact, isn't it?" Oregon guard Carson York said last week in advance of the Rose Bowl on Monday. The exception was USC's victory in November at Eugene, a week after the Trojans' home win over Washington.

Tim Kish was in Los Angeles recruiting in his role as Arizona's defensive coordinator when school officials contacted him about taking over as interim head coach after Mike Stoops was fired Monday. Kish immediately headed back to Tucson, arriving about midnight. On the way, he said he thought about Stoops, their 7 1/2 seasons together, and started jotting down notes. Even back home, he didn't sleep much. "There were a lot of things running through my mind," Kish said Tuesday during the weekly Pacific 12 Conference football coaches' conference call.

Dennis Dixon may be considered a long shot to earn Philadelphia's starting quarterback job -- or even a spot on the team's opening-day roster -- but he does have one advantage over fellow Eagles QBs Michael Vick and Nick Foles. Not only he is the only one of the three who has played under new Coach Chip Kelly's system, but Dixon excelled in his spread offense at the University of Oregon. With Kelly as his offensive coordinator in 2007, Dixon was in the Heisman Trophy conversation -- passing for 2,136 yards with 20 touchdowns and four interceptions to go with 583 yards and nine touchdowns on the ground -- before a torn ACL ended his senior season prematurely.

Mark Helfrich, the 39-year-old offensive coordinator who helped orchestrate Chip Kelly's high-powered offense, has been promoted to coach. Helfrich, an Oregon native, began his coaching career with the Ducks in 1997 as a graduate assistant from Southern Oregon. He made his mark as a quarterbacks coach, with stops at Boise State (1998-2000), Arizona State (2001-05) and Colorado (2006-08) before returning to Oregon in the same capacity. “Going forward we will attack in all phases.

Chip Kelly came oh-so close to making the leap to the NFL but in the end decided to stay put as the highly successful coach of the Oregon Ducks. Sound familiar? Multiple sources are reporting that after lengthy interviews with the Cleveland Browns and Philadelphia Eagles, as well as talking with the Buffalo Bills, Kelly has opted to stay with an Oregon team he has led to a 46-7 record, four straight BCS bowl games and three Pac-12 titles in four years as head coach. Kelly's decision was first reported by ESPN on Sunday night.

The Cleveland Browns are nearing a deal with Oregon Coach Chip Kelly to be their next coach, a person familiar with the negotiations told the Associated Press. The Browns interviewed Kelly on Friday and he was also supposed to meet with Philadelphia. However, a person familiar with the interviews but not authorized to discuss them publicly says the Eagles are "heading in another direction" because Kelly is nearing a deal with Cleveland. Kelly, 49, who turned down the Tampa Bay Buccaneers last year, said Thursday night after Oregon's Fiesta Bowl win over Kansas State that he wanted to get the interview process over quickly.

GLENDALE, Ariz. - Chip Kelly brought up-tempo offense to Oregon football, but now it might be time to implement the “hurry-up” to his career. If Thursday was Kelly's last game as head coach, well, it was a blur. These four years passed as quickly as his team played. It was fitting that Oregon's 35-17 Fiesta Bowl win over Kansas State at University of Phoenix Stadium started with De'Anthony Thomas' 94-yard kickoff return for touchdown. “My role in this game was to be a momentum-builder and a game-changer,” Thomas, the speedy game-changer star of last year's Rose Bowl victory, said.

If you missed Monday's Google+ Hangout, "NFL Slam with Mark and Sam", you missed a good one. Mark Thompson and Sam Farmer tackle a host of topics, one of the more intriguing ones being whether Oregon Coach Chip Kelly's up-tempo offense can work in the NFL. Farmer told Thompson that he has his doubts. With the following questions to be answere: How do you protect the quarterback? The quarterback is much more exposed in Kelly's type of system, particularly when he's carrying the ball.

The day that quarterback Kevin Prince had waited for, and the UCLA offense seemed to need, arrived. A little more than three weeks after suffering a fractured jaw, Prince rejoined the first team and spent the entire practice getting reacquainted with teammates and the offense. He capped the day by completing three of four passes during a two-minute drill. "My rhythm and timing were a little off," Prince said. "I missed some throws that I really shouldn't miss and don't want to miss ever."

The big college football game of this weekend is between third-ranked Stanford and sixth-ranked Oregon and the theme from Pac-12 Conference football coaches Tuesday was the contrasting styles of the league's top teams. "These are two different teams, philosophy-wise," Washington State Coach Paul Wulff said. "If Stanford can contain the big plays, Stanford has the advantage. If Oregon can create enough big plays, then Oregon has the advantage. Ultimately, I think who prevails in their style of offense will win. " Oregon Coach Chip Kelly compared Stanford to top-ranked Louisiana State, at least as far as a power running game.

Mike Bellotti saw the future of Oregon football almost a decade ago. The spread-option epiphany did not tap him lightly on the shoulder. "It just hit me right in the face," Bellotti, now an ESPN analyst, said this week. You can credit Oregon's former coach for making possible Saturday night's anticipated showdown of Arizona at Oregon. The game features two of the spread's most cutting-edge masterminds, Oregon Coach Chip Kelly and Arizona's Rich Rodriguez. If Rodriguez is the godfather of the offense, Kelly might be the godson.