Chip Kelly guaranteed $1.25 million a year

Chip Kelly’s first contract as a head football coach will pay him an annual guaranteed salary of $1.25 million this season and next, plus a share of Oregon’s season ticket sales, and offer a myriad of bonuses for performance on the field and in the classroom. The annual guaranteed salary would increase to $1.5 million beginning with the 2011 season. The five-year contract, through March 2014, requires Kelly to pay the university $1 million if he leaves for a college or pro football job during the first three years, and $750,000 thereafter. The contract is automatically extended by one year if the Ducks play in a bowl game. The agreement also gives Kelly the option of renegotiating the contract, or accepting an annual guaranteed salary of $2.3 million — or walking away from the deal without penalty — if the Ducks win 19 regular-season games, or win 20 games including bowl games, in any two-year period. – Register Guard

Blount may be reinstated today

When the Oregon Ducks resume practice Monday, after a rare 25-hour opportunity to enjoy their victory, they might learn about the return of a player who has yet to participate in an Oregon win this season. Pacific-10 Conference commissioner Larry Scott met Sunday with running back LeGarrette Blount, university president Richard Lariviere, university counsel, coach Chip Kelly and athletic director Mike Bellotti to discuss the possible return of Blount. Athletic director Mike Bellotti said he expects an announcement Monday on Blount’s status. – The Oregonian

Oregon coach Chip Kelly to reinstatement of LeGarette Blount?

University of Oregon football coach Chip Kelly has called a press conference for 11 a.m. Friday to discuss the possible reinstatement of LeGarette Blount to full participation with the Ducks’ football team. Blount, a senior running back, was suspended from play for the rest of the season after punching a Boise State player and attempting to go into the stands to confront hecklers after Oregon lost to the Broncos 19-8 on Sept. 3. – Statesman Journal

How will Oregon punish Blount for punch?

Oregon Athletic Director Mike Bellotti said the school is contemplating disciplinary action for running back LeGarrette Blount after he punched a Boise State player following the Ducks’ ugly loss on Thursday night. Blount struck the Boise linebacker Byron Hout with a violent right-handed punch to the jaw after No. 14 Boise beat No. 16 Oregon 19-8. The force was so strong that the 241-pound Hout, who was not wearing a helmet, tumbled to the ground. Blount had to literally be pulled off the field by teammates and security personnel. Replays also showed Blount striking one of his own his own players, Garrett Embry, who had his helmet on. “I’ll talk with our conference commissioner and our university president and I think, obviously we’re not very proud of that and I think it’s not something to be condoned and we’ll take steps to correct it,” Bellotti said. He added that since the incident happened after the game ended, the decision will be under the university’s purview. – New York Times

How far Oregon takes its punishment of LeGarrette Blount isn’t yet clear. Coach Chip Kelly said he did not see the incident, but he had been briefed. After carrying the ball 13 times for minus-five yards, Blount got an earful from some Broncos after the game. And when Hout touched Blount’s shoulder pads and had some words for the senior, Blount sucker-punched him. Blount was restrained by his teammates, but he also delivered a shot to teammate Garrett Embry, who was trying to be peacemaker. Then, when receivers coach Scott Frost and a police offer tried to wrestle an angry Blount to the locker room, he got into it again with some fans behind the end zone. – The Oregonian

Chip Kelly Looks to Keep Oregon Ducks Flying High

The rise of the University of Oregon athletics over the past decade and a half has been one that many could have never imagined.  The beauty for Duck fans is that the meteoric rise seems to be just getting underway.  When Oregon hired Mike Bellotti to lead the football program following the 1994 season, he continued the momentum built by Rich Brooks and became the most successful football coach in school history.  Coach Bellotti wasn’t the only coach brought in during that time frame as Ernie Kent came on board at his alma mater and became the most successful coach in Oregon history on the hardwood. As with any program or team that has great success after a long period of mediocrity, many new fans jump on the bandwagon and expect that success to be duplicated every year.  The problem for Oregon is that when this happened after the 2001 year, fans got used to winning and anything less than the BCS or the elite eight was considered failure by many of the Johnny-come-lately fans.  What Mike Bellotti and Ernie Kent have accomplished at a school that was long considered an afterthought and a cellar dweller in the PAC-10 is nothing less than remarkable. – DuckTerritory.com

Cameras on helmets teach quarterbacks at Oregon

Now helmet cam technology is being used in college football to help improve a quarterback’s decision-making process. Oregon’s quarterbacks wore helmet cams for the first time this week at practice. “We’re just trying to see through the eyes of the quarterback and help them make decisions faster,” new offensive coordinator Mark Helfrich says. “You can get a good idea of where their eyes are at any time. It’s a first-person account of exactly what they’re doing. It’s a way to reinforce what they are doing or what we’d like them to do.” – USA Today

The Firing Line: Kelly’s Name Surfaces at SDSU

“The Firing Line” at Football Rumor Mill focuses on coaches around the country who are in serious jeopardy. The latest edition centers on San Diego State Chuck Long…

Chuck Long, San Diego State: The final days: There is some thought within the program that maybe SDSU is panicking after only three seasons. But the trends don’t look good for Long, who hasn’t been able to win consistently despite the rich San Diego-area recruiting advantage and a winnable conference. The fit: Chip Kelly, Oregon offensive coordinator – NBC Sports

Most weeks have ended in disaster during this season gone south, but optimism held strong thanks to a long slate of remaining games that represented the possibility of a turnaround. Hope is now fleeting as the season enters its second half, and frustration over a 1-5 record is starting to override the 24-hour rule.Aztecs coach Chuck Long is trying to curtail this downward spiral heading into Saturday’s game at New Mexico and keep his focus on the task at hand. “One of the themes I told our team on Sunday is that the football world doesn’t wait for teams to feel sorry for themselves,” Long said. “Life doesn’t work that way, and neither does the next opponent. I put it on the leaders of our football team to bring the energy to practice and in games. The rest of the football team should be responsible for their roles, whether it be starter, backup, special teams player or scout team. They have responsibility to that role to help our team the best way they can.” – North County Times