After his portrayal as a deceiving cheat by Willie Lyles in a story published by Yahoo Sports on July 1, it was hard to imagine how things could get worse for Oregon football coach Chip Kelly - at least that day.
But eight hours after Lyles may have hammered the final nail into Kelly’s coaching career with the Ducks, the leading sports media figure in the state of Oregon released another bombshell impugning Kelly’s character.
PORTLAND OREGONIAN columnist and radio talkshow host John Canzano reported late last Friday that when he first asked Kelly about his relationship with Lyles on March 3, 2011, the Oregon football coach said he didn’t know the man he had cut a $25,000 check to for invoiced videos we now know never existed:
I spoke with University of Oregon football coach Chip Kelly in early March, amid reports that a Texas man named Willie Lyles was involved in a recruiting scandal that could bring down the Ducks program.
Kelly told me he didn’t know who Willie Lyles was.
I believed him.
That same evening, a Yahoo Sports story reported that Lyles was paid $25,000 by Oregon. So I texted Kelly, asking him why he lied to me, and we ended up on the telephone, where Kelly insisted I’d confused him by asking about “Willie Lyles.” He said, “around here, we call him ‘Will.’
“We’ve already distanced ourselves from him, trust me.”
Kelly’s deceit somehow gets even deeper.
Kelly’s incredible denial to Canzano about not knowing Lyles took place the evening of March 3.
But only hours before Kelly claimed to have “distanced” himself and the program from Lyles, Oregon recently confirmed Kelly’s football program received spreadsheets containing names and phone numbers of high school football recruits from Lyles - on March 3.
Names and phone numbers Lyles told Yahoo last week were a result of Kelly and Oregon “scrambling” to account for their $25,000 payment to him 11+ months earlier.
Canzano also noted of his March 3 exchange with Kelly in the Portland Oregonian:
A purchase order obtained by The Oregonian details that Lyles billed them for “Game films, Highlight film” from 22 states. And if you ask Kelly what was provided he’ll tell you the Ducks received contact information for players — “names and phone numbers.”
“Names and phone numbers” Kelly had acquired from Lyles the same day he talked to Canzano!
So why would Lyles wait over 11 months after Oregon’s $25,000 check arrived to suddenly rush those names and phone numbers to Kelly?
Because the Oregon coach had been tipped off to the March 3 Yahoo story by reporter Charles Robinson “immediately” before it was published.
From Robinson on March 3:
A message left on the cell phone of Oregon coach Chip Kelly was not immediately returned, and there was no answer on a number listed for Lyles.
Then, nearly four months to the day that Kelly told Canzano he had “distanced” himself and the program from Lyles, phone records obtained by Yahoo showed that Oregon’s assistant director of football operations, Josh Gibson, spent 94 minutes on the phone with Lyles on June 2.
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9:17 am on July 5th, 2011
Your doing a good …always interesting…
9:46 am on July 5th, 2011
Anyone find it interesting that the two new kids on the block who played in last year’s BCS title game both had to cheat to get there?
9:50 am on July 5th, 2011
Good lord what is Oregon waiting for?
9:55 am on July 5th, 2011
The university of Oregon made yet another mistake when they decided to fight with this slime ball Kelly. The smart move would be immediately to distance themselves from him.
10:36 am on July 5th, 2011
CORK:TAKE YOUR CORK AND SHOVE IT UP YOUR WILL YOU KNOW WHERE CAUSE YOU ARE A BIG ONE”O”
11:20 am on July 5th, 2011
“What is Oregon waiting for?” Until the NCAA stops rewarding programs who stonewall and obstruct their investigations and actually lays the hammer down on somebody, Oregon is doing exactly what it should: stonewalling and obstructing the investigation.
Under the current paradigm of enforcement, there is no reward for being honest. You can’t expect a school being investigated for cheating to suddenly display ethical behavior when it just makes their punishment worse.
11:22 am on July 5th, 2011
ragtag: Go back and look at the last 5 years of participants in the BCS title game. They are all cheaters. Alabama, Florida, Ohio State, Auburn, Oregon, USC, etc…
Cheater, cheater, cheater, cheater, cheater and cheater.
Texas the only one without major scandals at the moment … unless Colt McCoy’s wife decides to call any more talk shows.
11:38 am on July 5th, 2011
Does anyone find it odd to pay 25k for names and numbers you can get by calling any HS coach?
11:55 am on July 5th, 2011
NORTHWESTERN and VANDERBILT
12:01 pm on July 5th, 2011
Of course the U doesn’t win anymore…..
And the U doesn’t have many fans anymore.
12:14 pm on July 5th, 2011
You are making a big deal about nothing.
If Willie Lyles used the money to purchase the parents of the players, it’s okay, so long as the player himself says that he did not know about it.
1:12 pm on July 5th, 2011
Don’t forget this line: “My dad/mom/mentor/coach never told me anything. O didn’t know.”
The NCAA has given a blank check to parents to accept any money from a college AS LONG AS THEY DO NOT TELL THE KID! Just tell them which school you’ve “decided” they are attending. RIDICULOUS… Um, I mean, PERFECT!!
1:33 pm on July 5th, 2011
You’re right. They are all cheaters, but Auburn and Oregon may be the worst two.
1:43 pm on July 5th, 2011
This is hillarious Duck fans. How can you still stand up for your program? UofO is corrupt not only from the Athletic Department, University to it’s head coach and assistant coaches, but even it’s biggest booster. Free pair of rare Jordans sitting in Lache Seastrunks closet right now. Oh boy oh boy! I was impartial to this situation before I just kept reading the absolute ridiculous claims from Duck fans and how stubborn this university is. Oregon and it’s fans deserve whatever they get because of the way they have been attacking the media and others who see the shady parts of this story. Good Bye Oregon. Your 15 seconds of fame were all fraud! Enjoy the hammer from the NCAA! See you MAYBE in 15 years?
3:28 pm on July 5th, 2011
Do you guys all REALLY believe everything you read? Think for a minute… Do you really think that one of only 2 pairs of a particular shoe ever made were given to Lache Seastrunk? Really? that makes you dumber than rocks… and Lyles would be incredibly stupid if he actually believed that.
Second, just because a university is not telling the PUBLIC anything does NOT mean that they are stonewalling the NCAA. The fact that Michael Glazier has not made the University self-report like he ALWAYS does when he sees a violation after 4 MONTHS gives an indication of what he thinks.
Next, anyone who believes The Clown Faced Buffoon (Canzano) is a complete and total moron… the guy is nothing more than a sports version of a tabloid journalist.
Fourth, anyone who thinks you can calla high school coach in Texas and get all the information you want does not know Mack Brown… why do you think Lyles said what he said two weeks ago (conveniently missed by someone) about Texas being the ones that started the smear campaign because {Lyles} wouldn’t steer players to them [Texas] ? Because Mack Brown has an agreement with high school coaches in Texas… he gets first crack and players are “protected” from out of state calls by the coaches until Mack decides who he wants and doesn’t want.
It is real convenient for Clownzano that all of his “information” happened in a phone call… he has made up sources so many times that this tactic is not at all surprising… he once said that “every player who ever played for Ernie Kent hates him.” And, he substantiated that with a “source” he ran into at the Portland airport who is a “NCAA basketball insider.” Last year, his “source” inside the athletics department said that every player on the football team hates Kelly… which is simply not true… the guy just makes it up as he goes along..
As for the specifics here, what we KNOW is this… Oregon paid a recruiting service more than most charge (though, what most writers like to leave out is that there are several that charge 25K for yearly national packages, DSV is one of those). We know that the information that has been RELEASED (there is more information which was not specifically requested in the FOI request which DOES exist and IS being shared with the NCAA) paints the picture that the materials received were outdated and smaller in scope.
We also know that the Compliance Department knew about many of the purported “issues.” We know that Bill Clever (Compliance Director) is one of the more conservative CD’s in the nation. We know that he approved these things after presumably talking to the NCAA regarding each of the issues.
We know that Michael Glazier, notorious for telling schools to self-report and self-impose sanctions has been on the case for FOUR months and there is yet to be a self-report and/or self-imposed sanctions by the university… that tells a lot more than any spittle that comes bubbling forth from the lips of Willie Lyles.
For those that ask how a fan can continue to be a fan in light of this… you are a fan for life, not until something goes wrong… there is not a Duck fan around that, if Kelly is found to have committed egregious major violations would not stand behind the school if they fired him. On the other hand, true fans will stay fans even in the darkest times. You ask how we can stay fans… because we were there in the days when 4-7 was a good season, 5-6 was very good and 6-5 was great… we were there when at halftime there were less than 20,000 in the stands… we have been through the darkness and we will be fans regardless of what happens as a result of this inquiry…
3:53 pm on July 5th, 2011
What will Duck fans argument be once NCAA comes down on their beloved corrupted program? Keep digging NCAA and journalists. There is plenty to find in Eugene. Where there is smoke there is certainely fire.
7:17 pm on July 5th, 2011
Really?
The most hilarious part of this post = “the leading sports media figure in the state of Oregon”.
Please visit the state of Oregon and read his columns and listen to his radio shows before you deem him a beacon of truth in the state…
7:50 pm on July 5th, 2011
to “Really?”
You nailed it for me - a fan of my school since the 60’s while I was in high school, attended the UO in the 70’s during the Bobby Moore(Ahmad Rashad) / Dan Fouts years. Your last para was bullseye. Seems it is Oregon’s turn on the chopping block…forced to endure wild claims ..some outrageous and born of jealousy..but some bearing elements of truth….we are likely somewhere in the middle…
At this point I remain on CK’s side and see Lyles as upset his fledgling service failed and wants to take down Oregon as a result. No coverup seen here - yet.
But the worst case scenario would be that Lyles perspective is accepted as fact. If that were true then CK must go.
I just don’t believe that to be true - yet.
Go Ducks
12:42 am on July 6th, 2011
The fact that Chip told JC that he didn’t know Will Lyles is nothing more than Chip having ZERO respect for JC. JC acts as if everyone owes him something and has to tell him everything he wants to know. He’s a columnist not a journalist. If he wants to be treated with respect he should show some in return.
After listening to lyles today I felt much better for Oregon. According to lyles he gave Oregon info. Not stats (anyone with a computer can pull stats). He gave them insight into the players as people. That is much more valuable in recruiting.
4:08 am on July 6th, 2011
oh godness…really?
9:25 am on July 6th, 2011
Until the NCAA comes down hard on Phil Knight, Oregon will continue to cheat. This has been going on for over a decade. From bumping into Mr. Knight on recruiting visits to Mike Bellotti violating the NCAA dead period, Oregon has been a rotten program, from within. The NCAA needs to make a harsh example of them.
10:43 pm on July 8th, 2011
For those duck fans in denial about this, why is your school hiring a cop to police their students and coaches?
http://ncaamarket.ncaa.org/jobs#/detail/4340303
If the ducks are so clean, perhaps you should read your NCAA handbook:
13.1.2.1 - General Rule. All in-person, on- and off-campus recruiting contacts with a prospective student-athlete or the prospective student-athlete’s relatives or legal guardians shall be made only by authorized institutional staff members. Such contact, as well as correspondence and telephone calls, by representatives of an institution’s athletics interests is prohibited except as otherwise permitted in this section.
So any contact by Lyles directly with the kid, things like Air Jordans, Trips to games, or helping him get his grandmother to sign for his letter of intent are all outside those parameters from the NCAA.
And there is probably more that you could find with simple Google searches. For instance, this gem comes to mind:
http://seattle.sbnation.com/washington-huskies/2011/2/1/1968989/deanthony-thomas-oregon-duck-clothing-photo-signing-day-usc-recruitment
Not sure when that was taken, but that is a lot of very expensive duck gear for someone to wear that didn’t just get it from the team. Not saying that he did, but all I am saying is that is a lot of expensive gear that is not available to everyone. Hence its absence from their own store…
http://spiritduck.uoduckstore.com/SearchResults.asp?Cat=48
That last one might be the weakest one, but from the school that has forced the NCAA ban creating comic books of recruits for visits, picking recruits up in Yellow, duck emblazened Hummers and flying on private booster jets, it is not a stretch to think they may be a little shady. Just a smidge.
6:47 pm on July 9th, 2011
I remember walking to classes at OSU (Beavers) in 1973, wearing my new blue Nike’s with the white shoosh, thinking about how neat it was that an Oregon track coach and former athlete, had invented such shoes. I had no idea of the long-term impact on Duck sports.
Regardless of how biased I am as a Beaver fan, objectively, it seems pretty obvious as to who runs the Duck athletic department and, perhaps, the school. From building a new baseball stadium and the Matt Knight basketball facility, to appointing Phill’s longtime friend (Kilkenny) as Athletic Director, the “green machine” has become the “long-green machine.” The finger prints are unmistakable.
The overall control of athletics by Nike would seem to be an even greater issue, than the situation with Lyles and CK. IMHO.