Chip Kelly Turns Down Buccaneers Job: Oregon Coach Won't Jump To NFL

While the Patriots and Giants were punching their tickets to Super Bowl 46 in Indianapolis, there was another team and another man making headlines in the NFL. Throughout Championship Sunday, several outlets reported that the Tampa Bay Buccaneers were negotiating a deal to make Oregon's Chip Kelly their new head coach.

ESPN's Adam Schefter, Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times and KGW8 had all reported Sunday evening that the Ducks head coach was finalizing the deal and that both sides hoped to reach an agreement in the next day or two.

When Joe Davidson of the Sacramento Bee tweeted that Kelly had canceled a Sacramento-area recruiting trip just weeks before national signing day, it seemed an indicator that he was leaving Oregon. FootballScoop.com went as far as saying that Kelly has accepted a deal and was leaving Oregon just a few weeks after winning the Rose Bowl.

But somewhere along the way Kelly changed his mind.

"His heart is with college football and Oregon and he's no longer being considered," Bucs general manager Mark Dominik told the Tampa Bay Times on Monday.

The Buccaneers fired coach Raheem Morris after three seasons, one of which Tampa Bay won 10 games. But an overall record of 17-31 and zero trips to the playoffs were enough for the franchise to dump Morris along with his entire staff.

Kelly has been at Oregon since 2009, leading the Ducks to three consecutive conference titles and three consecutive BCS Bowl games. Earlier this month, he led Oregon to its first Rose Bowl victory in 95 years.