By Rob Maaddi and Mark Anderson, Associated Press
According to a person with knowledge of the decision, Chip Kelly will rejoin the NFL on Sunday as the offensive coordinator for the Las Vegas Raiders.
Since the team hasn’t made the hire public, the individual talked to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.
Kelly, a former head coach at Oregon, UCLA, the Philadelphia Eagles, and the San Francisco 49ers, was the offensive coordinator for Ohio State’s national championship team this past season.
Pete Carroll, the new Raiders coach, made this his second significant personnel choice. Last week, he also kept Patrick Graham, the defensive coordinator.
The Raiders are hoping to boost their offense, which finished last in rushing with an average of 79.8 yards per game and fourth worst with 303.2 yards per game, by hiring Kelly.
Finding a quarterback in an AFC West that features players like Patrick Mahomes, Justin Herbert, and Bo Nix—all of whom led their clubs to the playoffs this season—will be one of the top considerations.The Kansas City Chiefs are attempting to win an unprecedented third consecutive Lombardi Trophy, and Mahomes is in the Super Bowl for the third time in a row.
However, the Raiders have a variety of offensive issues. Josh Jacobs, a running back who joined the Green Bay Packers, was not sufficiently replaced by them. When Davone Adams was traded to the New York Jets during the season, the Raiders also lost a game-changing wide receiver.
However, there are some encouraging aspects.Jakobi Meyers recorded his first 1,000-yard receiving season, Brock Bowers had an incredible season for a rookie tight end, and offensive lineman Jackson Powers-Johnson and DJ Glaze, along with tackle Kolton Miller, were solid rookie building stones.
In his roles as Oregon’s offensive coordinator in 2007 and 2008 and as head coach of the Ducks for the next four seasons, Kelly made a name for himself as a creative offensive maestro. He finished in the top four in the AP poll for the last three years, went 46-7, and played in the 2010 Bowl Championship Series national championship game.
In all three of those last seasons, Oregon averaged over 500 yards per game and finished in the top three offensively.
Prior to regulations that leveled the playing field, the Ducks’ high-tempo offense was intended to exhaust opposing defenses and restrict opponents’ ability to change players.
After that, Kelly spent three seasons in Philadelphia, where he finished 10-6 in his first two seasons. After going 6-9 in 2015, he was let go.
Kelly was then hired by the 49ers, although coach only lasted one season after finishing with a 2-14 record.
He made his collegiate football comeback in 2018 at UCLA, although his first three seasons were slow, with losing records. Over his final three years, the Bruins finished 25-13, but Kelly’s job security was frequently questioned.
After the 2023 season, he departed to take charge of Ohio State’s offensive. After scoring 83 points in the first two rounds of the College Football Playoff, the Buckeyes easily defeated Notre Dame 34-23 in the championship game and Texas 28-14 in the semifinals.
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