Ex-Ducks coach confirms talk with Kelly

In the first interview he has granted since he was dismissed as coach of Oregon, Mark Helfrich said he reached out to former coach Chip Kelly a couple of weeks ago when he thought he could be fired.

Helfrich tells ESPN Radio that he reached out to Kelly when it started “going south” for the Ducks and the rumors heated up, in the interest of trying to save his assistants’ jobs.

“When you start thinking of your assistants and all the support staff and all those people, if he were to come back here some of those people would be ‘saved’ quoteend quote,” Helfrich said.

Helfrich was fired by Oregon on Tuesday after four seasons with the Ducks. He took the team to the first College Football Playoff championship game two seasons ago but the team faltered

Notebook

this past season, going 4-8 overall and 2-7 in the Pac-12.

Kelly said Wednesday he intends to remain the coach of the San Francisco 49ers.

Iowa State

Standout Cyclones wide receiver Allen Lazard will return for his senior season.

Lazard caught 69 passes as a junior in 2015, including seven for touchdowns, and his 1,018 yards rank third in school history.

Lazard also averaged seven catches for 114 yards in his final five games, coinciding with quarterback Jacob Park’s elevation to the starting job.

The 6-foot-5, 220-pound Lazard was one of the most highly sought recruits the Cyclones ever landed in 2014. Lazard has lived to his promise, with 170 career grabs for 2,419 yards.

“Our football team made a lot of strides this past year,” Lazard said. “Coach [Matt] Campbell has this program going in the right direction and the enthusiasm and excitement within the locker room is extremely high.”

Pitt

Panthers senior Ejuan Price was named a finalist for the Ted Hendricks Defensive End of the Year Award, given to the top defensive end in college football. The other five with Price are Alabama’s Jonathan Allen, Tennessee's Derek Barnett, Utah’s Hunter Dimick, Boston College’s Harold Landry and Florida State's DeMarcus Walker, who was named ACC defensive player of the year.

The winner will be announced Wednesday. Past awardees include Terrell Suggs, LaMarr Woodley, Jadeveon Clowney and, last year, Penn State’s Carl Nassib.