The Las Vegas Raiders have fired offensive coordinator Chip Kelly following Sunday’s 24-10 loss to the Cleveland Browns. The move comes just 11 games into his first season with the team.
“I spoke with Chip Kelly earlier this evening and informed him of his release as offensive coordinator of the Raiders,” head coach Pete Carroll said in a statement released by the team. “I would like to thank Chip for his service and wish him all the best in the future.”
Vegas sits at or near the bottom of virtually every offensive category in the NFL including points per game (last), 30th in total yards per game, 31st in rushing yards per game, 30th in offensive EPA, 28th in red zone efficiency, and have tallied 10 points or less in 4 games this year.
The move marks the second major announcement regarding Carroll’s staff this year after the team fired special teams coordinator Tom McMahon on November 7th.
“I am grateful for the opportunity with the Raiders; bottom line in this league you have to win,” Kelly told reporters. “I really loved those players. I’m a huge, huge Geno Smith fan. That was one of the best parts of this experience for me, working with Geno and those guys every day…But hey, we got to win. I get it.”
Prior to joining the Raiders, Kelly had experience as the head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles (2013-15) and San Francisco 49ers (2016). He then returned to the college ranks to serve as UCLA’s head coach from 2018-2023, before joining Ohio State’s staff as offensive coordinator, helping the team to win a National Championship.
The Raiders have dealt with a litany of injuries throughout the year which has had an effect on the offence as a whole. However, the stagnation of rookie running back Ashton Jeanty, and regression of Geno Smith in his system likely dealt the final blow to Kelly’s future in the desert.
Currently 2-9 on the season, the team has been out of the playoff race for weeks now, and will instead be focusing on righting the ship down the stretch to build off some positives heading into the offseason. Up next for Vegas is a divisional showdown with the Chargers on November 30th.
Photo: Bobak Ha’Eri. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license.