PORTLAND, Ore. — Oregon picked offensive coordinator Chip Kelly to be head coach Mike Bellotti's eventual successor, though school officials did not say when that will happen.

Bellotti will become the school's athletic director when he steps down. He said Tuesday he will coach the Ducks in their bowl game and continue to recruit.

Asked if he would step down after this season, Bellotti told reporters during a conference call he didn't think so.

"It could be a year, it could be more," he said. "I don't know."

Bellotti is 115-55 in 14 seasons at Oregon and has taken the Ducks to 12 bowl games. The Ducks are 9-3 this season. He is currently the longest tenured coach in the Pacific-10 Conference.

Kelly becomes the latest coach-in-waiting, a trend in major college football these days. Texas recently announced defensive coordinator Will Muschamp will eventually replace Mack Brown. Florida State, Kentucky and Purdue have all made similar moves in the last two seasons.

The "succession plan" released by the university come amid reports that Kelly was to be interviewed by Syracuse for its head coaching position.

"I will not speak to any other schools. I'm a Duck," he said.

Kelly has been offensive coordinator at Oregon the past two seasons, running a spread-option offense. The Ducks are ranked fourth in the nation in rushing, averaging 277.8 yards a game, and are eighth in total offense with 467.2 yards a game.

Before Oregon, Kelly was offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at New Hampshire for eight seasons.

Bellotti would replace Pat Kilkenny as AD, who took over in February 2007 and said at the time he planned to serve in that position for two years.

A prominent booster, Kilkenny has spearhead plans to build a new basketball arena that would replace venerable McArthur Court.

"Pat has accomplished an extraordinary amount in the time he has been at the University of Oregon," university President Dave Frohnmayer said. "My goal is to establish a plan for an orderly transition so when he leaves, the athletics department will be able to continue to thrive."