Jan. 27, 2009

With Oregon in coach holding pattern, Ducks march on

By Dennis Dodd | CBSSports.com Senior Writer
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Oregon can offer plenty to recruits ...

Nike's riches. A top 10 program (at the end of 2008 and probably going into 2009). More costume changes than a Christina Aguilera concert.

O.C. Chip Kelly has done big things since coming from New Hampshire. (Provided to CBSSports.com)

While Bellotti has dropped hints he has coached his last game for the Ducks, the scene is looking more and more like one of those Aguilera concerts.

In other words, a tease.

Oregon is soldiering through recruiting with a void at the top. Or half a void. Or maybe no void at all.

"It's a great situation," said Kelly, who became coach-in-waiting on Dec. 2 after less than two seasons with the Ducks. "That's why the situation at Oregon is as good as it gets. I have a chance to take over a top 10 program. Your AD happens to be the all-time winningest coach at the school."

Officially, Bellotti is telling recruits he will definitely be there for them, just perhaps in a different capacity by the time they graduate.

"I've been honest with every one of them: 'At some point I won't be your head coach, but our values won't change.'"

Unofficially, it looks like Bellotti won't be around in 2009. Why? He hasn't fully committed to it yet. At times, the coach says Kelly might have some on-the-job training for the next season or two as Bellotti's coaching career ends. At times, he sounds like a veteran ready to hit the glad-handing booster circuit as an AD.

"I answer those questions every day," the coach said. "I don't know. Probably after March, after recruiting, you can get your wits about you and sort of clear your head. Prior to spring football I'll make that decision."

Kelly's rise is as surprising as Bellotti's decision to hand the job to him. Bellotti is the dean of Pac-10 coaches (116-55 in 14 seasons) having led the Ducks to 12 bowl games, including the 2002 Fiesta Bowl. This year's team, with or without him, could be poised to break Southern California's death grip on the conference.

Bellotti made Oregon a consistent winner through the decline of bitter rival Washington and the reemergence of the Trojans, all the while fighting an annual Civil War with Oregon State.

With so much flux, Oregon might be handling this coach-in-waiting thing better than any school. Purdue is the first school involved in the trend to have its guy ascend to the coaching throne. Danny Hope is taking over for Joe Tiller, who had already announced his retirement. But, face it, Purdue is no Oregon.

Elsewhere, the picture isn't as clear. Texas defensive coordinator Will Muschamp just received a salary boost to $900,000 while he waits to take over for Mack Brown. Jimbo Fisher will wait at least one more season before replacing Bobby Bowden at Florida State. His agreement states that Fisher must take over no later than the end of the 2010 season or be owed $5 million.

There is a bit of symmetry at Oregon. When Rich Brooks left Eugene for the St. Louis Rams in 1994, he suggested Bellotti as his replacement. Now Kelly is Bellotti's hand-picked guy while Brooks has offensive coordinator Joker Phillips as his coach-in-waiting at Kentucky.

Kelly, 45, arrived in February 2007 after 14 seasons as an assistant at New Hampshire. His offenses had lit up I-AA, but traveling across country and making the step up to the Pac-10 had its challenges.

We now know the man can coach quarterbacks and coordinate offenses. And talk. Always talk. The Manchester, N.H., native's offenses match his rat-a-tat speech pattern. In his two seasons, Oregon has led the Pac-10 in plays per game and total offense.

Nine months after Kelly arrived, Oregon quarterback Dennis Dixon was headed for a Heisman Trophy and the Ducks were on track for a national championship. In 2008, Jeremiah Masoli went from fifth-stringer the week before the season opener to dual-threat star, leading Oregon to a Holiday Bowl victory over Oklahoma State.

As other schools (including Syracuse last season) began to show interest, it was clear to Bellotti and Oregon that Kelly was a keeper.

"He's one of the finest guys I've been around in my 36 years coaching college football," Bellotti said. "I didn't want to lose him and I'm at the point in my career that I can see the timeline. I can see the end in a year, maybe two. I feel comfortable giving it to someone who can keep it at the same level or do even better things."

We're getting mixed signals. Already, two Oregon assistants have been quietly told their services would no longer be needed. Receivers coach Robin Pflugrad and defensive line coach Michael Gray are looking for jobs, supposedly because they wouldn't fit on Kelly's future staff. Some consternation was created when receiver Markus Wheaton committed to Oregon State, citing the dismissals of Pflugrad and Gray, the two Oregon coaches who had been recruiting him.

But Bellotti and Kelly continue to recruit, and well, as a tandem under their current job descriptions. On Monday, Bellotti and Kelly braved freezing drizzle to make an in-home visit with the parents of Bryce Brown in Wichita, Kan. Brown, a tailback, is listed by some services as the nation's No. 1 prospect.

Brown's recruitment is beginning to look a lot like that of Ohio State quarterback Terrelle Pryor. Oregon was the school that didn't seem to belong in the Jeannette, Pa., star's list of finalists last year. Pryor delayed his eventual signing with the Buckeyes, in part, to take an official visit to Eugene. He never made the visit but Kelly had made his mark, burrowing into the mind of the nation's best prospect.

It is happening for the second consecutive year. Oregon is among the finalists for Brown along with Miami, Auburn, Tennessee and USC. Brown had committed to Miami but continues to take visits. And as long as there are Ducks in freezing drizzle Oregon has a chance.

"Chip has done a great job," said Brian Butler, Brown's advisor and family friend.

The latest sign is one that indicates a change isn't near. Former Tennessee quarterback Tee Martin was courted as an Oregon assistant. When the subject of quarterbacks coach was broached, Martin was informed that job was filled. Quarterbacks are part of Kelly's duties as offensive coordinator. Martin ended up at New Mexico.

"We're going to sit down sometime after the signing date and then decide what his next step is," Kelly said of his AD-in-waiting. "I imagine if he goes through spring ball, then he'll stay on for another year. If he doesn't go through spring ball then what will probably happen is ... I don't know."

The tease continues.