Kelly stays put

Chip Kelly is staying at Oregon. Two people with knowledge of the decision confirmed Sunday night that Kelly is passing up a chance to coach in the NFL to remain with the Ducks. Kelly, 49, had lengthy interviews this weekend with the Cleveland Browns and Philadelphia Eagles, and talked to the Buffalo Bills.

Chip Kelly is staying at Oregon.

Two people with knowledge of the decision confirmed Sunday night that Kelly is passing up a chance to coach in the NFL to remain with the Ducks. One person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because Oregon and Kelly haven’t formally announced the decision, while the other person wasn’t authorized to reveal Kelly’s plans.

Kelly, 49, had lengthy interviews this weekend with the Cleveland Browns and Philadelphia Eagles, and talked to the Buffalo Bills. He talked with Tampa Bay last year.

Kelly earned a base salary of $2.8 million this past season at Oregon and has five years left on his contract. The No. 5 Ducks, known for the innovative offense that Kelly devised, beat Kansas State in the Fiesta Bowl on Thursday night to finish the season 12-1.

Kelly is 46-7 in four years at Oregon, and the Ducks have been to four consecutive BCS bowl games — including the BCS Championship Game against Auburn two seasons ago — and has won three Pacific-12 championships. He originally came to the Ducks in 2007 as offensive coordinator under Mike Bellotti. Before that, he was offensive coordinator at New Hampshire.

A person familiar with Cleveland’s coaching search said earlier Sunday that the team passed on Kelly after he was indecisive about making the leap to the NFL. The Browns nearly had a deal with Kelly two days ago, but they have moved on to other candidates, the source said.

Chip Kelly