Chip Kelly 'fired up' to be back in the NFL as Raiders offensive coordinator

Feb 05, 2025 at 04:45 PM

Carter Owen

Digital Content Associate

Just 16 days ago, Chip Kelly was in Atlanta, helping coach Ohio State to a College Football Playoff national title. The Buckeyes put up 34 points in an 11-point win over Notre Dame. Now, after spending the last seven seasons at the collegiate level, Kelly is aboard Pete Carroll's staff as the Las Vegas Raiders offensive coordinator.

"It's one of the iconic franchises, and [I'm] really fortunate to be here," Kelly said Wednesday morning in his introductory press conference.

"This opportunity came up after we beat Notre Dame, and I started to think about it a little bit. And so, as I said earlier, I would only go somewhere where I felt really confident in the alignment from the ownership to the personnel to the head coach. And I really felt that when I met with Pete."

Kelly brings 34 years of coaching experience, including four in the NFL as a head coach with the Philadelphia Eagles (2013-15) and San Francisco 49ers (2016). In Philadelphia, he took over after a 4-12 season and won 10 games in each of his first two seasons. The Eagles ranked third in the NFL in points per game (26.9) and total offense (392.8 yards per game) in Kelly's three seasons and set franchise records for points scored in both 2013 and 2014.

Following a successful first season as Ohio State's offensive coordinator, Kelly is excited to be back in the NFL.

"This is the highest league of football, and the competition is at an all-time high," he said. "I enjoyed my experiences in the league the last time I was here. You have to be prepared every single week in the National Football League, every team. I don't know the exact number of how many one-score games there are, but they're prevalent and usually, it comes down to a play. So, it's that competition that drives you."

In addition to competition, the opportunity to reunite with a former foe was especially intriguing. Kelly and Carroll met three times at the collegiate level, twice with Kelly as Oregon's offensive coordinator and once in 2009 when both were head coaches. Kelly got the best of Carroll in two of the three matchups, including a 47-20 win in the 2009 game. Carroll then avenged the losses in the NFL with two wins over Kelly's 49ers in 2016 and one over the Eagles in 2014.

"When Pete reached out, I had a chance to visit with him," Kelly said. "I've got great respect for him. I coached against him my first year in the Pac-10. ... Pete was still at SC, then he left to go for his 14-year journey up in Seattle. Obviously you know the success he had, he won a national championship as a coach at the college level. He won a Super Bowl in the NFL. I think everybody in the coaching profession, if you get a chance to work with Pete Carroll, you're pretty excited about it."

"I'm fired up to be around Pete," he added. "He's got an infectious personality that I think will pervade through this entire organization."

Joining forces with Carroll and returning defensive coordinator Patrick Graham, Kelly understands the challenge that lies ahead in the AFC West. The Broncos and Chargers both made the playoffs and the Chiefs are playing in the Super Bowl for the fifth time in the last six seasons.

"I heard that from some people, do you really want to go in that division? But I think if you're a competitor, you do," Kelly said. "And if you have a chance to win that division, then that means you beat the best. ... There's really good coaches in this division, but just like there is across the NFL. You don't get to be a coach in the National Football League if you don't know what you're doing. So, all of the competition every single week in this league is hard, but to be in this division, I think you're going against the best, and that's what you want to do if you're a competitor."

As Kelly looks to get started with the Silver and Black, step one is building out the staff. Step two will involve building the roster, and then building the offense around that roster.

"You have to look at what is available to you, whether it's through the draft or through free agency, or on the current roster," Kelly said. "And then, what are their strengths and how do we design our oﬀense around their strengths because it has to be designed around how the quarterback plays. So, I think it's really your evaluation of the personnel that's available to you and then fitting them into that system."

It's something Kelly had success with in Philadelphia with Nick Foles and Michael Vick. Now he hopes to do the same with the Raiders.

"It's our job as a coaching staﬀ to come in here and execute that vision that Mark [Davis] has for this organization," he said. "And there's no better group to do it with Pete and Spy [John Spytek] and Tom Brady and the group of guys that are starting to be collected in this building and we get to go to work with them every day.

"I am looking at this with excitement. I'm kind of fired up to be in Vegas and be in this situation right now."

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Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Gardner Minshew II (15) passes during the preseason home game against the Dallas Cowboys at Allegiant Stadium.