Raiders hire Chip Kelly as offensive coordinator, AP source says

Chip Kelly is returning to the NFL as the Las Vegas Raiders’ offensive coordinator, a person with knowledge of the decision said Sunday.

The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the team hasn’t announced the hire.

Kelly was the offensive coordinator on Ohio State’s national championship team this past season after previously serving as the head coach at Oregon and UCLA as well as the Philadelphia Eagles and San Francisco 49ers.

This was the second major personnel decision made by new Raiders coach Pete Carroll. He also retained defensive coordinator Patrick Graham last week.

In hiring Kelly, the Raiders will try to spark an offense that was fourth worst this past season with 303.2 yards per game and last in rushing with a 79.8-yard average.

Among the priorities will be trying to find a quarterback in an AFC West that includes Patrick Mahomes, Justin Herbert and Bo Nix — all who took their teams to the playoffs this season. Mahomes is in the Super Bowl for the third consecutive time as the Kansas City Chiefs try to capture an unprecedented third straight Lombardi Trophy.

But the Raiders’ offensive problems are wide ranging. They failed to adequately replace running back Josh Jacobs, who signed with the Green Bay Packers. The Raiders also lost a game-changer at wide receiver when Davante Adams was traded during the season to the New York Jets.

But there are some areas of optimism. Brock Bowers had a historic season for a rookie tight end, Jakobi Meyers put together his first 1,000-yard receiving season and offensive linemen Jackson Powers-Johnson and DJ Glaze proved to be strong building blocks as rookies along with tackle Kolton Miller.

Kelly established himself as a creative offensive mastermind as Oregon’s offensive coordinator in 2007 and 2008 and then as the Ducks’ head coach the following four seasons. He went 46-7, appearing in the Bowl Championship Series national championship game in 2010 season and finishing in the top four of the AP poll his last three years.

Oregon finished in the top three offensively all three of those final seasons, averaging more than 500 yards per game each time.

The Ducks ran a high-tempo offense designed to wear out opposing defenses and limit the ability of opponents to substitute players before rules were later established to more level the playing field.

Kelly then went to Philadelphia for three seasons, going 10-6 each of his first two seasons. He was fired after going 6-9 in 2015.

The 49ers then hired Kelly, who lasted just one season after posting a 2-14 record.

He returned to college football in 2018 at UCLA, but got off to a slow start with losing records in each of his first three seasons. The Bruins went 25-13 over his final three years, though Kelly’s job security was regularly in question.

He left after the 2023 season to direct Ohio State’s offense. The Buckeyes rolled through the College Football Playoff, scoring 83 points in the first two rounds before defeating Texas 28-14 in the semifinals and Notre Dame 34-23 in the title game.

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