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Today, the NCAA finally handed down sanctions on Oregon's football programs, stemming from Chip Kelly-era infractions. Now, the current Eagles head coach has issued a statement acknowledging those sanctions and his role in the situations.
"Now that the NCAA has concluded their investigation and penalized the University of Oregon and its football program, I want to apologize to the University of Oregon, all of its current and former players and their fans," Kelly said in his statement to CSNPhilly.com. "I accept my share of responsibility for the actions that led to the penalties. As I have I stated before, the NCAA investigation and subsequent ruling had no impact on my decision to leave Oregon for Philadelphia."
"I have also maintained throughout that I had every intention to cooperate with the NCAA's investigation, which I did. I do expect the University of Oregon and its football program to continue to thrive at a high level. They are a talented and resilient group of coaches and players and I'm sure they will attempt to put today's news behind them very quickly and move forward as they prepare for the 2013 season."
Included in the sanctions handed down by the NCAA is an 18-month show cause, meaning that if Kelly is hired by a college to coach, he and that school must appear before the Committee on Infractions and agree to any further sanctions handed down that could affect Kelly. Considering he's currently employed by the Eagles, I don't see that being an issue unless he flops in Philadelphia in a big way.
The sanctions handed down to the Oregon Ducks was modest at best, and considering the duration of the investigation, it amounts to a slap on the wrist. Once again, the NCAA has shown its willingness to do nothing at all. For Kelly, the sanctions won't matter whatsoever, even if he decides to go back to coaching college football in a couple of seasons.
