Chip Kelly said he has no plans to leave the San Francisco 49ers despite his old job at Oregon now becoming available again.

Oregon fired Mark Helfrich on Tuesday.

Kelly was asked if he planned on staying with the 49ers.

"Yep," Kelly said. "So we're all done with that, I hope."

Asked if there's any chance he will return to Oregon, Kelly shook his head and said, "No."

Kelly said he called Helfrich, his close friend, on Wednesday morning to offer support.

"I have not talked to anybody at Oregon except for Mark Helfrich," Kelly said.

Mike Zimmer was to have emergency eye surgery Wednesday night and his status for Week 13 against the Dallas Cowboys is uncertain.

Zimmer had surgery to repair a torn retina on his right eye Nov. 1, after he had scratched his eye during the Vikings' loss to the Chicago Bears on Oct. 31.

Doctors had initially told Zimmer he ran the risk of going blind in the eye if he did not have the first surgery.

Interim offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur and offensive line coach Tony Sparano have both been NFL head coaches, and Shurmur assumed offensive play-calling duties when Norv Turner resigned Nov. 2, the same day Zimmer first discussed his eye surgery.

Oregon has fired Mark Helfrich as head coach after four seasons.

"No one wanted Mark to be more successful at Oregon than me," athletic director Rob Mullens told reporters Tuesday night. "For the past several months I've grown concerned over the direction of the program. We were not competitive in a number of games and we were on a poor trajectory."

Players were given less than a half-hour notice Tuesday night to attend an emergency team meeting at the Hatfield-Dowlin Complex, where they were informed of the decision. After the meeting, players walked to Helfrich's office and formed a line outside as they waited to say their thanks. 

The search will be assisted by the firm Parker Executive Search, and will go "far and wide," Mullens said.

Oregon finished the 2016 season with a 4-8 record.

UO representatives reportedly met with Tom Herman last week before he left Houston for Texas on Saturday. Another report from Texas said UO is "kicking the tires" on Alabama offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin, the former Oakland Raiders, Tennessee and USC coach. A 247 Sports report also indicated that TCU's Gary Patterson was not receptive to UO overtures.  

Western Michigan's P.J. Fleck (29-21 in four seasons) and Boise State's Bryan Harsin (38-13 in four seasons, including 2013 at Arkansas State) are reportedly targets of Oregon's. 

The Dallas Cowboys can become the first NFL team to clinch a playoff berth this weekend.

The Cowboys would clinch with a win over the Minnesota Vikings and either a Tampa Bay Buccaneers loss or tie to the San Diego Chargers or a Washington Redskins loss to the Arizona Cardinals.

The New England Patriots have agreed to a five-year contract extension with Marcus Cannon.

The deal is worth $32.5 million, including $14.5 million in guarantees, according to a source.

Cannon, 28, was a fifth-round pick in 2011.

The NFL plans to stop playing early-morning games in London going forward, according to a report.

Beginning in 2017, the games will be played in the usual North American time windows.

As the NFL tries to make it's product more appealing, they won't consider ditching or limiting Thursday Night Football.

The Pittsburgh Steelers have talked to Antonio Brown about his celebration penalties following touchdowns, according to Ben Roethlisberger.

Brown received his third touchdown-celebration penalty of the season against the Indianapolis Colts on Thanksgiving.

"He knows, we all know, Coach [Mike] Tomlin brought it up yesterday, that is a huge penalty and we can't do that," Roethlisberger said on 93.7 The Fan. "We put our kick coverage team in a bad situation and we can't have that, and AB knows that."

Roethlisberger added that he understands Brown's excitement after scoring and believes the officials are watching Brown closely.

Darren Sharper has been sentenced a 20-year prison term in an embarrassing rape case.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Michael Pastor denounced Sharper's "horrible conduct'' and "disgraceful abuse of trust'' during the hearing that concluded prosecutions that unmasked the former All-Pro safety and Super Bowl champ as a serial rapist.

Under the terms of a plea deal negotiated with prosecutors in four states, Sharper will be eligible for parole in about eight years because California law requires he serve half his sentence and he has already been behind bars more than two years since his arrest.

Similar to the Trench Counter, Football Outsiders' DVOA continues to produce more noise than signal.

Five teams are packed together within five percentage points, all far below any No. 1 team of years past.

The Atlanta Falcons now rank No. 1 in DVOA ahead of the Dallas Cowboys.

Despite a losing record, the Philadelphia Eagles rank No. 3.

The Seattle Seahawks dropped from first to fourth following their performance in a loss at the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

The New England Patriots, Pittsburgh Steelers, Oakland Raiders, Kansas City Chiefs, Miami Dolphins and Washington round out the top-10.

Tim Tebow turned down $1 million for a one-day commercial shoot after asking Bill Belichick if he was okay with it.

Tebow was with the New England Patriots during the summer of 2013.

"I remembered when I had signed with the team in June [of 2013]. Then I'd had an offer on the table to make a one-day appearance endorsing a product for a million-dollar paycheck. I'm sure you'd agree that a million bucks is a lot to make in just twenty-four hours. But I wasn't quick to say yes."

"So when the offer for the one-day commercial turned up, I was sure to discuss the opportunity with him. 'I want to know what you think, Coach,' I said. 'I respect you and I want to fit in. I want to be one of the guys. Should I do it?'

Belichick advised Tebow to turn down the offer.

"He thought for a moment and then shook his head. 'Timmy, I would really appreciate it if you didn't.'

"Highly respecting the man, I turned down the deal. I didn't even think twice about it. I wanted the chance to impress Coach Belichick more than I wanted the money. I'll say that if I were on any other team, I would have probably said yes to the offer. But the thoughts he offered in our initial conversation mattered to me -- even more than a million dollars."

Tebow was later cut by the Patriots.