The Oregon football squad is likely in hot water with the NCAA following what’s been a rather tumultuous offseason already. The local media expects things could get worse, however, even questioning if head coach Chip Kelly will be on the sidelines next season as more information leaks out regarding recruiter Willie Lyles.
Oregon Football Coach Chip Kelly Losing Credibility As More Willie Lyles Information Leaks
The Oregonian’s John Canzano wrote in his Saturday newspaper column that “it feels as though we’ve arrived at the beginning of the end of Kelly as the Ducks coach.”
With all of the scrutiny revolving around the program as of late, stemming mostly from a Yahoo! Sports report, Canzano probably isn’t far off base with his assessment of the Ducks football program. The NCAA infractions committee almost certainly won’t take it easy relating to the alleged massive recruiting violations Kelly’s squad has committed.
Canzano reports that when he asked Kelly in March about Willie Lyles, Kelly told him that he didn’t who he was -- and Canzano believed him. After the Yahoo! report leaked, however, Kelly conveniently talked Canzano around the issue.
“Around here, we call him ‘Will,’” Kelly told Canzano according to the column. “We’ve already distanced ourselves from him, trust me.”
That isn’t the only reason to question Kelly’s credibility, however, according to the reporter.
Lyles was supposedly running a scouting service that Oregon had subscribed to, but the Yahoo! report has implicated the Texas man as a key figure in the recruitment of both LaMichael James and Lache Seastrunk -- and those are just the two high-profile names that have are public knowledge. He may not be fired by Oregon.
Canzano does question Kelly’s job stability, but he realizes that the NCAA will have to go through the full process of deciding if Oregon’s biggest infraction was committing the alleged recruiting violations, the seeming cover-up or if there were any provable violations at all.
Still, with all of the issues surrounding the program, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Kelly on his way out sooner rather than later if the Oregon athletic department believes it could keep them from stricter sanctions on the school.
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