EUGENE — The Chip Kelly-to-the-NFL chatter continues to escalate, and it figures to get even louder over the next few weeks.

Is Kelly ready to leave Oregon?

Kelly, after nearly bolting for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers head-coaching job in January, ducked the issue when he was asked last week. But it's a question that, like these persistent rain clouds, will continue to hover over the Oregon football program, and one that could influence the future of a number of UO coaches and players.

And recruits, too.

Oregon coaches are on the road this week trying to improve a recruiting class ranked as low as 69

th

in the country by one of the major recruiting services. Oregon has just 10 high school recruits committed for the class of 2013; among Pac-12 schools, only Stanford, with nine, has fewer.

The Ducks' recruiting classes were ranked in the top 15 in each of the past three years.

Brandon Huffman, the national recruiting analyst and West Regional manager for Scout.com, said other coaches are using the NFL rumors against Kelly and the Ducks in recruiting battles.

"There's no question that they are using that," Huffman said. "It might not even be said in a negative way. Just, 'Hey keep it in the back of your mind that Chip might not be (at Oregon) for long.'"

Huffman, however, said that doesn't necessarily make Oregon's recruiting efforts more difficult. He cited USC under Pete Carroll as a similar situation.

"(Carroll) still brought in top recruiting classes even though he seemed to be a candidate for every (NFL) job," Huffman said.

In this situation, Huffman said it's even more vital for UO assistant coaches to make strong connections with recruits, to show that "they represent Oregon and not so much Chip Kelly."

An even bigger hurdle than the Kelly rumors, Huffman said, is the possibility of NCAA sanctions against Oregon in the ongoing Willie Lyles saga. Competing coaches are certainly using that against the Ducks on the recruiting trail, Huffman said.

Even so, Huffman expects the Ducks to make a strong push in the final two-plus months before national signing day on Feb. 6. Oregon did just that in each of the past two years, getting surprise commitments from De'Anthony Thomas (2011) and Arik Armstead (2012), among others, in the final week before national signing day in early February. (Specifically, Huffman said he wouldn't be surprised if USC commit Eddie Vanderdoes, a friend of Armstead's from the Sacramento area, reconsiders the Ducks in the next two months.)

Oregon officials were blind-sided by Kelly's flirtation with Tampa Bay in January. The timing could not have been much worse, with Kelly initially accepting the Bucs job and then changing his mind on Jan. 22 — just 11 days before national signing day.

UO officials are better prepared now for what former coach Mike Bellotti has called Kelly's "inevitable" departure to the NFL.

One UO insider estimated that, if Kelly were to leave, offensive coordinator Mark Helfrich would almost certainly be promoted to the head-coaching job. The same source would be "shocked" if Oregon went after Boise State's Chris Petersen.

Another source said that while Nike co-founder Phil Knight is "a big fan of Chip," Oregon's most influential booster approves of Helfrich as Kelly's successor.

Former UO quarterback Joey Harrington said he wouldn't fault Kelly for leaving for the NFL, but Harrington also doesn't assume it's a sure thing.

"He's a revolutionary — he really is," Harrington said. "His style of coaching doesn't exist in the NFL. It's going to take a very specific place for him to be successful. He will come in and absolutely shake up somebody's world, and that may or may not catch on right away.

"He's going to need the support of not only the players but also of the entire organization if he does decide to go."

Peter King, a Sports Illustrated NFL writer, on Monday listed Kelly as the No. 1 coaching candidate among NFL general managers.

Kelly has a guaranteed salary of $3.5 million this season from Oregon. He has a $3.5 million buyout if he leaves Oregon for another coaching job.

-- Adam Jude; follow on Twitter.

