Oregon offensive coordinator Chip Kelly and head coach Mike Bellotti faced the media Friday, three days after their dual promotion to head coach and athletic director, respectively.
For Kelly, it is the chance to take over a BCS conference program just two years after breaking into the Division I ranks as a coordinator. Oregon is consistently higher-ranked and higher-profile than any of the other positions, including Syracuse and Mississippi State, that Kelly has been considered a candidate for.
Some programs have sought permission to contact Kelly even after he was announced the successor to Bellotti at the helm of the Oregon football program. Kelly said he isn’t interested talking to any other schools about their coaching vacancies now that he is next in line for the Ducks.
“It doesn’t really matter. I don’t have to answer (the phone). I’ve already got a job. I’ve got a future,” he said.
Kelly’s two years at Oregon have brought unprecedented offensive success even for the Ducks, who have been an aggressive and innovative offense throughout Bellotti’s tenure as head coach.

But the statistics have been nothing short of incredible, as school and conference records have fallen and the Oregon offense has consistently ranked among the nation’s elite in points scored and yards (rushing yards specifically) in Kelly’s brief stint as coordinator. Reason enough, apparently, to promote the man.
“I think part of the reason I’m sitting here is because of the success we had on offense,” Kelly said. “But I think sometimes some of that is overblown, too … because of the other coaches we have on our staff.”
Those other coaches are part of the challenge that faces Kelly in transitioning to head coach, as most have been members of the staff far longer than Kelly. Bellotti said Friday that he called each member of the staff individually before the initial announcement was made and most were shocked – not that Kelly was Bellotti’s choice as his successor but that the coach was ready to hang it up for good. Bellotti said he is comfortable with his decision and that it was purely his decision to make, with no outside pressure.
“The very next day I approached my job with a sense of relief,” Bellotti said of finalizing the succession plan with current athletic director Pat Kilkenny. “That, one, I’ll still be able to do the things I’ve talked about; two, I’ll be able to spend more time with my family and watch my youngest child (Sean, 14) grow up, and be more involved than I was with my other two (Luke, 23, and Keri, 22); three, that I can have my hand in not just football but the other athletic teams here at the University, which I have tremendous interest in.”
Pressed on why he is stepping aside now, and whether he was experiencing some burnout from the rigorous life of a Division I head football coach, Bellotti was emphatic.
“It’s not burnout,” he said. “It’s just a new challenge to me that’s much more interesting than it ever was before. And also turning the reins over to someone that I have confidence can continue and make it better.
“… I truly believe Chip Kelly is the very best candidate I could find,” he said.
As to the time frame for the implementation of the promotions, Bellotti was still vague but somewhat less so than initially, when he put the cap at 10 years. This led to some speculation that he could be Oregon’s head coach for as many as nine more years.
“This in all probability will be a year or two out,” Bellotti said. “It’s not nine years.”
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