Since Buddy Martin reported Sunday that Florida officials were in New Hampshire to meet with Chip Kelly and offer him a contract, Florida fans and those who follow SEC football have waited for an announcement.

While that hasn’t come so far on Monday, Martin, a Florida-based journalist and radio host who co-authored Steve Spurrier’s autobiography, has stood by his reporting that Kelly is a top candidate for the open Florida job.

“I still believe that Chip Kelly is the guy until somebody knocks him out of the box,” Martin said on The Paul Finebaum Show.

Martin recalled a comment from Florida Athletics Director Scott Stricklin, who said, “productive conversations were still going on.” Martin said that’s a nice way of saying Kelly wasn’t signed.

“Clearly Florida targeted Kelly and they had a clandestine plan to go up to New Hampshire and meet with Kelly and sign him and bring him home,” Martin said. “A lot of people are viewing that as a failure, I don’t view it that way. I think it’s negotiations and it’s going to be a long drawn-out process.”

For his part, Martin said he’s not sure if the talk of Kelly to UCLA is real.

Martin added that he’s talked with the likes of Urban Meyer and Terry Bradshaw, who each endorsed Kelly, especially as an offensive-minded college coach.

“So yeah, I think it could be a good fit,” Martin said.

Martin added that Kelly would use available leverage for coaching staff salaries and facilities. The facilities were something former coach Jim McElwain complained about after just six or eight weeks, Martin said.

“I would say I’d give it, still a 75 to 80 percent chance it still would be Kelly until he takes himself out of the thing, or we know more,” he said. “… I think there’s a lot of fine print with this contract. I think lawyers are working around the clock on it, and if he’s going to come, he’s going to have to come in the next couple of days.”

Kelly was 46-7 as Oregon’s head coach from 2009-12. He won 12 games in three of his four seasons with the Ducks, and also won conference championships in three of his four seasons.

Kelly’s teams made appearances in the Rose Bowl twice, Fiesta Bowl and the national championship game.

“There’s too much smoke out there for something not to be happening,” Martin said. “Because everybody wanted to deny, deny, deny that it’s even taking place. … Florida has moved the ball down the field to the two-yard line, now can Florida punch it in the end zone and that’s the big question for Gator fans.”