The Rest of College Football

[Dr. Strangelove]

Chip Kelly possibly to Tampa Bay??

http://tracking.si.com/2012/01/23/report-oregon-coach-chip-kelly-mulling-deal-with-bucs/?sct=hp_t2_a4&eref=sihp

[SeanB]

Apparently so:

The St. Petersburg Times has confirmed a KGW-TV Portland report that the Bucs are in the process of finalizing a contract to make Chip Kelly of Oregon their next head coach.
Many were skeptical of the story when it first appeared on the KGW-TV website, but beat reporter Rick Stroud confirms it's legit. Per Stroud, the sides are hopeful a deal will be completed "in the next 24-48 hours." Kelly met with Bucs management last week. Similar to Pete Carroll when he left USC for the Seahawks, it's believed Kelly will be or is currently being investigated for NCAA violations. He may be bolting just before Oregon is hit with sanctions.

[SeanB]

Also, read on mgoblog that Scott Loeffler has been named the new OC at Auburn.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/colleges/auburn-hires-scott-loeffler-as-offensive-coordinator-to-replace-gus-malzahn/2012/01/22/gIQAtRObJQ_story.html

Sorry if a repost. I've been skimmin' lately.

[entropy]

SbB has since confirmed that Kelly is already assembling a coaching staff - from a source with direct knowledge of the process.

SACRAMENTO BEE reporter Joe Davidson also confirmed on Sunday night that with national signing day less than two weeks away, Kelly most recently canceled a Sacramento-area recruiting trip set for today. Justin Hopkins of DuckTerritory.com reported the trip was to include an in-home visit this evening.

Kelly’s departure from Oregon will cost the Bucs $3.5 million because of an applicable buyout clause in the coach’s college contract. Kelly signed a six-year extension with Oregon on Sept. 28, 2010, a deal which made him the second-highest paid coach in the Pac-10 at the time.

Kelly leaves as the school braces for the impending delivery of an NCAA Notice of Allegations, which may implicate the coach in NCAA violations relating to his relationship with Texas-based high school football scout Willie Lyles.

[JRB]

Another Pac-10 coach getting out of Dodge before the NCAA posse catches up to him.

[JRB]

For me, the Penn State story has been probably the saddest story I can recall in my time as a college football fan, and today's terrible news from State College makes it just that much worse. To see someone who stood for so much that is good in the game lose his battle to cancer under these circumstances...the word awful doesn't even come close to describing it accurately.

[entropy]

Pete Thamel

If Kelly does leave for the N.F.L., there will be much speculation about how serious the N.C.A.A.’s investigation into the Ducks’ program is. Oregon is being investigated for its relationship with Will Lyles, a Texas-based talent scout who helped steer talented players to the program.

Still, Oregon is considered one of the top jobs in college football. Kelly; his predecessor, Mike Bellotti; and the seemingly endless reserves of cash from the Nike chairman Phil Knight, an Oregon alum, have elevated the program to the top ranks. The leading candidate for Oregon is expected to be Chris Petersen, the Boise State coach who has turned away dozens of head coaching opportunities while compiling a 73-6 record over the past six seasons. Petersen is a former Oregon assistant, and friends have insisted for years that leading the Ducks is one of the few jobs that Petersen would leave Boise for.

It will be interesting to see how Petersen or any other high-profile candidates — Tony Dungy’s son is an Oregon player — deal with the specter of the N.C.A.A. investigation. The N.C.A.A. does not comment on investigations, the results of which are unpredictable at best, but its mere existence will create a stigma, especially if Oregon fails to immediately land a high-caliber coach.

It would be a fascinating experiment to see how Kelly’s offense would work in the N.F.L. His scheme features a fast-break tempo, a running quarterback and an element of the option game, all of which are outside the N.F.L. paradigm. But the introduction of elements of the spread offense has seemingly changed N.F.L. norms, a trend that would continue if Kelly is hired.

Kelly has had a meteoric rise through the coaching ranks since arriving in Eugene as an assistant after being a relatively unknown coordinator at the University of New Hampshire. He transformed quarterback Dennis Dixon from an underachiever to a Heisman Trophy contender with his no-huddle spread offense in 2007. Kelly was soon named coach-in-waiting and then took over for Bellotti three seasons ago.

Kelly has a 34-6 record in three seasons at Oregon, winning the conference title all three times. His path to becoming a head coach in a Bowl Championship Series conference was unorthodox. Besides New Hampshire, he coached at Johns Hopkins and Columbia before being hired as Oregon’s offensive coordinator.

[Pasadena Blue]

I think Kelly is gone. If Peterson takes the job, then the Ducks may be able to stay among the elite. If not, despite this writer's rosy take on how great a job Oregon is, I think they fall to the middle of the pack in the PAC12. Leach will get Wazzu back up, and despite his flop at M, I still believe RRod is a solid coach who will have success. Kelly leaving would really put SC in the driver's seat for ripping through the PAC next year.

[Hannibal]

The biggest problem with the Paterno firing was that it came about 8 years too late. But everyone had previously found out that trying to force Joe out was like a third rail. The media, especially ESPN, jumped all over JoePa's critics. They said that JoePa deserved to go out on his own terms, even though he was basically just an old figurehead who didn't coach anymore. I hope that people can look back and see the folly in that thinking. In this case, there happened to be tragic and dire consequences associated with it. JoePa and his biggest fans made JoePa bigger than the program. Remember what Bo said? "No man is more important than the team. No coach is more important than the team. The team, the team, the team."

[Hannibal]

I'm going to enjoy watching that Oregon program get dragged through the mud. I'm so sick of hearing about how they got good because they came up with crazy uniforms that appeal to high school kids. Turns out, they got good by cheating.

[WM Wolverine]

Not that difficult to be above middle-of-the pack in the Pac 12; Oregon should stay a cut above that; 8-9 win program given their spectacular facilities.

[entropy]

@AdamSchefter: Chip Kelly has decided not to take Buccaneers offer. "Its a no-go," said a source close to Kelly. "His heart is still with Oregon."

[Jamie H]

USA Today claiming Kelly is NOT leaving:

http://content.usatoday.com/communities/thehuddle/post/2012/01/reports-oregons-chip-kelly-to-join-buccaneers/1

[Jamie H]

Plus, remember Oregon's program was built by Mike Belotti, not Chip Kelly. He's still winning with Belotti's guys.

[entropy]

so.. next week or the week after... when we find out Kelly's big raise?