UPDATE: Oregon coach Chip Kelly has decided not to take an offer from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to fill their head-coaching vacancy, Tampa Bay’s general manager said.
“His heart is with college football and Oregon and he’s no longer being considered,” Mark Dominik said Monday, according to the Tampa Bay Times.
Kelly and the Bucs had been deep in the process of finishing a deal Sunday night.
Kelly, who interviewed with the Buccaneers last week, had been intrigued by the challenge of coaching at the highest level and not having to deal with parents and the NCAA oversights that are inherent to coaching in college, a source told ESPN’s Joe Schad.
While former USC coach Pete Carroll left the Trojans to coach the Seattle Seahawks in January 2010 shortly before an NCAA report for sanctions under Carroll’s watch, the source told Schad that Kelly and Oregon were not anticipating heavy sanctions from the NCAA’s inquiry into the school’s relationship with alleged street agent Willie Lyles.
Source: ESPNFlorida.com via ESPN.com
Original Story Below:
Could the Buccaneer’s have their new coach?
Sources say the University of Oregon football coach Chip Kelly is reportedly in the process of finalizing a deal that would make him the head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
A source close to the situation told KGW that Kelly will make the jump to the NFL if he can come to terms on a contract. Kelly interviewed with the Buccaneers last week and the two sides are aiming to work out a deal within the next 48 hours, according to one source.
The Bucs will resolve talks with Kelly either way before proceeding further with their search, the source said.
Kelly has been Oregon’s head coach for three years, winning the conference title in all three, reaching three straight BCS games. The crowning achievement coming three weeks ago, when the Ducks won their first Rose Bowl game in 95 years.
Kelly is still Oregon’s head coach and will remain so if negotiations stall. But the source did say the deal was in its final stages.
Source: ESPNFlorida.com via ESPN.com
