According to NFL.com's Ian Rapoport:

BREAKING: Chip Kelly is close to a deal to become the #Browns coach, according to a source informed of his situation.

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) January 4, 2013

The Browns were said to be prepared to "open the vault" to Kelly. No word on how much a contract would be worth, but one would have to figure that it included nearly complete control of personnel. The Browns went 5-11 last season, and haven't made the playoffs since 2002.

Obviously, we'll monitor the situation and see if more develops. It seems a worse situation than even the Tampa Bay job that Kelly turned down last year, but with new ownership in place, we don't really know what kind of sales pitch is being put on. We do expect to know one way or another soon, as Kelly said he wanted the process wrapped up soon during Thursday night's Fiesta Bowl.

Offensive coordinator Mark Helfrich is expected to be named head coach at Oregon if Kelly leaves.