Chip Kelly

Nearly a decade removed from his last stint in the NFL, Chip Kelly is rejoining the professional ranks.

The former Ohio State offensive coordinator is taking over as the Las Vegas Raiders offensive coordinator under new head coach Pete Carroll. Kelly and Carroll briefly coached against one another when Kelly was at Oregon and Carroll was at USC, and Kelly had only good things to say about the legendary coach.

"I've got great respect from when I coached against him my first year in the Pac-10 — and I did say Pac-10, that's how long ago it was," Kelly said, per The Athletic's Tashan Reed and Vic Tafur. "I think everybody in the coaching profession, if you get a chance to work with Pete Carroll, you're pretty excited about it."

Kelly was at the top of the college football world at Ohio State, leading one of the best offenses in the country to a national title. Even after the successful year, the Raiders job was too tempting to pass up.

"Obviously, this is the highest league of football. The competition is at an all-time high," Kelly said. "It's that competition that drives you. And then talking with (general manager) John Spytek and (owner) Mark Davis and just where everybody is aligned in this organization and then getting a chance to talk to (minority owner) Tom Brady about what he feels he can help Pete and Mark with. I was just excited about that alignment of everybody."

One of the Raiders' biggest challenges this season will be under center. Las Vegas has no true starting quarterback heading into the 2025 season, so the team will either have to find one on its current roster, draft one or sign one in free agency. Kelly explained what he'll be looking for in the Raiders quarterback.

"It depends on the personnel because you can't build a quarterback," Kelly said. "We don't have a scientific lab here where we can say we want a 6-foot-5 guy that's 250 pounds and runs a 4.4 (40-yard dash) and can make every throw. You can't do that. 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. And then, what are their strengths and how do we design our offense around their strengths? 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."

Kelly found immediate success at Ohio State, but taking the Raiders to the promised land is a completely different challenge. Las Vegas hasn't won a playoff game since 2002 and has made the postseason just twice in the past 23 years.

With Kelly leading the offense, the Raiders will look to finally turn the corner.

Ohio State reportedly didn't have to look far for its next offensive coordinator.

Matt Zenitz of CBS Sports and 247Sports reported Wednesday that the reigning national champions plan to promote co-offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach Brian Hartline to the full-time O.C. position.

This comes after former O.C. Chip Kelly departed to fill the same role with the Las Vegas Raiders in the NFL.

That the Buckeyes would promote Hartline comes as no surprise and further guarantees he will remain with his alma mater after he previously interviewed for head-coaching jobs elsewhere.

After all, he is widely considered one of—if not the—best wide receivers coaches and recruiters in the sport who has helped maintain the program's powerhouse status during his eight seasons on the staff.

Hartline has recruited and worked with a long list of star wide receivers, including Jeremiah Smith, Emeka Egbuka, Marvin Harrison Jr., Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Chris Olave and Garrett Wilson, among others.

He also played at Ohio State before an NFL career that included back-to-back seasons of more than 1,000 receiving yards with the Miami Dolphins in 2012 and 2013.

Ohio State certainly didn't want to risk losing Hartline without a promotion after Kelly left, and now he will have the opportunity to further prove himself in a different role.

However, it remains to be seen if Hartline is given full play-calling capabilities in the offense even after this promotion.

After all, head coach Ryan Day has an offensive background and, as Pete Nakos of On3 pointed out, took over play-calling in 2023 after O.C. Kevin Wilson left for Tulsa. Day called plays that season even though Hartline held the official O.C. role.

Day then took a different approach in 2024 and went out and hired Kelly as a high-profile outside addition. In doing so, the head coach took more of a step back from consistent play-calling and played the CEO and game-management role that many head coaches do.

It was hard to argue with the results, as the Buckeyes went on to win the inaugural 12-team College Football Playoff national championship. They were barely even threatened in their four CFP games, winning each of them by double digits and trailing for a grand total of fewer than seven minutes across the four contests.

Perhaps Day will give Hartline more play-calling responsibilities this time around, especially after such a strategy with Kelly resulted in Ohio State winning the national title.

If he does, the new O.C. will immediately be put to the test seeing how the Scarlet and Gray open the 2025 campaign with a home game against Texas.

Chip Kelly is reportedly returning to the NFL.

Per ESPN's Adam Schefter and Pete Thamel, the Las Vegas Raiders have hired Kelly to be their offensive coordinator. Kelly spent the 2024 season as Ohio State's offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach, helping the Buckeyes win a national championship against Notre Dame last month.

According to Sports Illustrated's Albert Breer, the Raiders gave Kelly a contract averaging $6 million per year, which makes him the highest-paid offensive coordinator in the league. Baltimore Ravens offensive coordinator Todd Monken and New York Giants offensive coordinator Mike Kafka were previously the highest paid at $3 million per year.

Kelly cut his teeth at a handful of smaller schools before getting his first major gig as Oregon's offensive coordinator in 2007. He took over as the Ducks head coach in 2009 and excelled, leading them to 10 wins or more in all four of his seasons and reaching the BCS national championship game in 2010.

Kelly got his first NFL coaching job in 2013 when the Philadelphia Eagles hired him as their head coach. He reached the playoffs in his first season at the helm but was fired in 2015 after a 6-9 start to the season.

Kelly then coached the San Francisco 49ers for a year in 2016 but was let go after a disastrous 2-14 season.

Following his struggles in the NFL ranks, Kelly returned to the collegiate ranks, taking over as UCLA's head coach in 2018. Kelly struggled early but posted three consecutive seasons with eight or more wins.

His success with the Bruins ultimately landed him the job at Ohio State ahead of the 2024 season.

Under Kelly, Buckeyes quarterback Will Howard threw for 4,010 yards and 35 touchdowns while adding 226 yards and seven touchdowns on the ground. Ohio State's offense averaged 37.2 points and 429.4 yards per game.

In the College Football Playoff, Ohio State beat Tennessee, Oregon, Texas and Notre Dame each by double digits in one of the most impressive four-game stretches in recent memory.

Buckeyes star receiver Jeremiah Smith, who thrived under Kelly, reacted to the trade on social media:

Nooooo💔 https://t.co/mA5MneoqOr

— Jeremiah Smith (@Jermiah_Smith1) February 2, 2025

Now Kelly will join a Raiders team that recently hired legendary coach Pete Carroll after his one-year stint away from the NFL. Las Vegas is looking for a coaching staff that can put it back in playoff contention, and the Raiders certainly have an experienced group.

Whether that experience will lead to wins is to be seen.

After leading Ohio State's offense to a national title, former NFL head coach Chip Kelly could be set for a return to the pros.

Kelly is "at the top of the list for several teams" looking for an offensive coordinator ahead of the 2025 season, according to CBS Sports' Jonathan Jones.

Jones listed the Jacksonville Jaguars, Houston Texans and Tampa Bay Buccaneers as potential NFL destinations for Kelly.

Kelly last coached in the NFL when he led the San Francisco 49ers during the 2016 season. He then served as UCLA's head coach for six seasons before joining Ohio State in 2024 as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach.

According to Jones, the Jaguars have "had interest in pairing new head coach Liam Coen with Kelly."

Jones noted it is "unclear how involved Kelly would be" in play-calling with the Jags given Coen's experience as offensive coordinator for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Kelly is also seen as the "logical successor" in Houston given his connection to head coach DeMeco Ryans, whom he coached when Ryan played for the Philadelphia Eagles, according to Jones.

Because Ryan was formerly the 49ers' defensive coordinator, Kelly could be a better fit as play-caller in Houston, Jones noted.

Kelly's previous stint in the NFL began in 2013, when he spent three seasons as head coach of the Eagles.

After leading the Eagles an NFC East title and a playoff game in his first season with the team, Kelly's team missed the playoffs in 2014. He was fired before the final game of the 2015 season after the Eagles were again eliminated from playoff contention.

Kelly then spent just one season with the 49ers before he was fired after the team finished the 2016 campaign with a 2-14 record.

After six seasons leading UCLA to a 35-34 overall record, Kelly said he was glad to be moving from head coaching to a coordinator position when he joined Ohio State last spring.

"To me, the best part of football is the football," Kelly said last May, per CBS Sports' Cameron Salerno. "So you got to do football, and not some of the things that are involved with the head coaching deal."

Ohio State then went to the national championship game in Kelly's first season with the team, where his offensive unit put up 445 total yards against Notre Dame to claim the title.

The Buckeyes paid a $1.5 million buyout to UCLA in order to sign Kelly to a three-year deal last spring, according to ESPN's Pete Thamel. If Kelly gets an offer from an NFL team, Ohio State could end up losing him after just one season.

Ohio State offensive coordinator Chip Kelly suggested Saturday that Oregon's decision to purposely play with 12 men on the field during a pivotal down in the Ducks' October win over the Buckeyes may have motivated OSU's players for the remainder of the season.

Speaking to reporters ahead of Monday's College Football Playoff National Championship Game between Ohio State and Notre Dame, Kelly referenced the play that occurred late in Oregon's 32-31 win, saying: "It was a unique message to our players, that you can't stop us with 11. You had to stop us with 12. And then you saw the final result of 11 vs. 11."

While never confirmed publicly, Oregon head coach Dan Lanning appeared to intentionally put an extra player on the field with 10 seconds remaining against Ohio State while the Buckeyes were trying to drive for a game-winning field goal.

The last time Oregon and Ohio State met Dan Lanning pulled a genius tactic with a purposeful 12 man penalty to help secure the win 🧠

What will Lanning and @oregonfootball have up their sleeve this time around? 🤔 pic.twitter.com/pmho5cJTow

— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) December 30, 2024

The play resulted in an incompletion, and although Oregon was called for too many men on the field, it was only a five-yard penalty that didn't put the Buckeyes in field goal range. However, it did take four seconds off the clock, which was more valuable to the Ducks.

While Oregon held on to win that game and went on to win the Big Ten championship with an undefeated record, the rematch against Ohio State in the CFP quarterfinals was an entirely different story, as the Buckeyes dominated from start to finish in a 41-21 win.

While the Buckeyes did lose another game after the Oregon loss, falling to rival Michigan, they have been a different team during the College Football Playoff.

Ohio State dominated Tennessee 42-17 in the first round, followed by the 41-21 win in the Oregon rematch. Then, OSU outlasted Texas 28-14 in the semis to reach the national title game.

Quarterback Will Howard has been on a roll during the CFP, throwing for 919 yards, six touchdowns and two picks in three games, and he has benefited from a deep and talented group of pass-catchers.

Freshman wide receiver Jeremiah Smith leads the team this season with 1,227 yards and 14 touchdowns on 71 catches, while senior Emeka Egbuka has 75 receptions for 947 yards and 10 scores.

Even No. 3 receiver Carnell Tate has been a major contributor with 50 grabs for 698 yards and four touchdowns.

Kelly suggested that the Fighting Irish will have to pick their poison when it comes to defending Ohio State's receivers, and he got in another shot on Lanning and Oregon as well, saying: "They can double anybody they want, but they can't double everybody. If they do, it's a penalty—they have too many guys on the field. And we saw that before against some team, sometime before in a game."

The 61-year-old Kelly spent four seasons as Oregon's head coach from 2009 to 2012, and he enjoyed enormous success, going 46-7 and reaching the national title game once.

Things didn't go as well for him in the NFL, as he was head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles from 2013 to 2015 and the San Francisco 49ers in 2016, going 28-35 with one playoff appearance.

Kelly returned to the collegiate head coaching ranks at UCLA in 2018, but he never achieved the same level of success he had at Oregon, going 35-34 over six seasons.

Ohio State has proved to be the ideal landing spot for Kelly, though, as he has gotten the most out of the Buckeyes' dynamic offensive weapons in the OC role.

The Buckeyes are now one victory away from their first national title since 2014, and Kelly has conceivably rebuilt his stock and potentially put himself in position to land another high-profile head coaching job in the future.

In one of the more surprising moves of this year's offseason, former UCLA head coach Chip Kelly left the Bruins to take over as Ohio State's offensive coordinator.

Kelly, who has been a head coach for several different collegiate and NFL teams since 2009, explained his decision in an appearance on the Pat McAfee Show Thursday.

He explained that the change in responsibility for a collegiate head coach had him longing for the days when he could focus solely on football. In his new position with the Buckeyes, he believes he'll be able to return to that role.

"I say it all the time, but the best part of football is football," Kelly said. "As the game has changed at the collegiate level, we've talked about that, I think the head coaching role has turned a lot more into being a CEO than a coach. And I understand that and that comes with the territory. But I was at a point in time where I could make a decision about what I wanted to do."

"The best part of football is football and the head coaching role has turned a lot more into being a CEO than a coach..

The opportunity to come to Ohio State and coach football really appealed to me"

Chip Kelly #PMSLive pic.twitter.com/EzZjOePXih

— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) March 7, 2024

For Kelly, a distinctive moment last season made him want to change roles. While preparing for the Bruins' bowl game against Boise State, Kelly took over quarterback coaching duties after Ryan Gunderson left to be Oregon State's new offensive coordinator. Being in that role reminded him of his love for simply coaching, rather than managing like he did in his head coach role.

"I got the chance to coach our quarterbacks in the bowl game because our quarterbacks coach is a great football coach and left to be the offensive coordinator at Oregon State," Kelly said. "So I coached the quarterbacks and I was in the meeting room daily for two weeks leading up to our bowl game against Boise State and I almost forgot about how fun that portion of it is. As I thought about it, I was at a point where I can say, here's an opportunity to go be a coach again, not a CEO."

The decision to leave UCLA, where he had been the coach since 2018, wasn't easy. He said the right place would have to pull him away, and Ohio State was that place.

"It would have taken a real special place to get me to leave UCLA, cause I love the players there, I love the coaching staff we had there," Kelly said. "We had a great situation, but the opportunity to come here and just coach football, and not have to do the things that a head coach is asked to do now in college football appealed to me."

Now Kelly will begin his first non-head coaching role since 2008 when he was the offensive coordinator at Oregon. Kelly served as Oregon's head coach from 2009 to 2012, led the Philadelphia Eagles from 2013 to 2015 and was the San Francisco 49ers head coach in 2016. He spent six seasons with UCLA.

He joins an Ohio State team that's coming off an 11-2 season, but fell short of reaching the College Football Playoff. While the Buckeyes have been one of college football's top teams for several years, they haven't won a national championship in a decade.

With Kelly now on the staff, the Buckeyes will be looking to bring a championship back to Columbus.

Former UCLA running back DeShaun Foster is the school's new head coach.

"We are looking for a coach with integrity, energy and passion; someone who is a great teacher, who develops young men, is a great recruiter and fully embraces the NIL landscape to help our student-athletes," UCLA athletic director Martin Jarmond said in a statement.

Foster—who also served as the team's running backs coach between 2017-23—will take over for the departing Chip Kelly, who is reportedly off to Ohio State to serve as Ryan Day's offensive coordinator.

An unforgettable moment. ✨ @DeShaunFoster26 #GoBruins pic.twitter.com/i8opcBbGiE

— UCLA Football (@UCLAFootball) February 12, 2024

He had taken a position with the Las Vegas Raiders last week as running backs coach before returning to UCLA as head coach.

According to Thamel, the Bruins interviewed 11 different candidates for the job before choosing Foster.

UCLA official believe Foster can resonate in the LA market and emphasize recruiting and fundraising. He’s consistently produced NFL tailbacks while at UCLA and was the overwhelming choice of the current players.

— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) February 12, 2024

When you talk to folks inside college football about who are the nicest guys coaching, just genuine folks, names mentioned most are #Michigan coach Sherrone Moore, #Alabama coach William Inge and new #UCLA head coach DeShaun Foster. https://t.co/ZMx5uHpLTa

— Steve Wiltfong (@SWiltfong_) February 12, 2024

This will get UCLA fans far more excited than they would have for most of the names that were out there. https://t.co/EXQoXiUoZQ

— Stewart Mandel (@slmandel) February 12, 2024

"This is a dream come true," he said in a statement. "I always envisioned being a Bruin ever since I was young, and now being the head coach at my alma mater is such a surreal feeling, and I'm grateful for this opportunity. The foundation of this program will be built on discipline, respect and enthusiasm. These are phenomenal young men, and I'm excited to hit the ground running."

The 44-year-old Foster spent four seasons at UCLA as a running back (1998-01), accumulating 3,049 rushing yards, 57 catches for 535 yards and 43 total touchdowns. The Carolina Panthers selected him in the second round of the 2002 NFL draft and he went on to play six seasons with the Carolina Panthers (2003-07) and the San Francisco 49ers (2008), putting up 3,570 rushing yards and 16 total scores.

Following his playing career he returned to UCLA as a student assistant (2013) and graduate assistant (2014-15) before heading to Texas Tech for one season as their running backs coach (2016). He then returned to UCLA to coach running backs.

His ascension to head coach comes at a pivotal time for the school's football program, as UCLA heads to the Big Ten next season alongside USC, Washington and Oregon. He'll look to build on the progress Kelly established, as UCLA has posted three straight winning seasons and went 8-5 in 2023.

The school last won a conference title in 1998, however, and getting back to those heights will be all the more difficult in a conference featuring defending national champions Michigan, to go along with Ohio State, Penn State, Iowa, Wisconsin, Michigan State and the Pac-12 defectors.

Former UCLA head coach Chip Kelly is expected to be named the offensive coordinator for Ohio State, according to Bruce Feldman of The Athletic.

Kelly spent the past six seasons with the Bruins and is set to succeed Bill O'Brien as the offensive coordinator on Ryan Day's staff. He previously served as the head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles as well as the San Francisco 49ers. Kelly informed the Bruins on Friday that he planned to leave for a new job, per Matt Zenitz of 247Sports.

The two have history together, as the current Buckeyes head coach was a member of Kelly's staff in each of his two NFL head coaching stops. Day served as the quarterbacks coach for the Eagles in 2015 and the 49ers in 2016 before heading to Columbus the following year.

Kelly was also considered for the Seattle Seahawks' vacancy at offensive coordinator, interviewing with the team about potentially joining new head coach Mike Macdonald's staff on Tuesday, per Benjamin Solak of The Ringer. It appears that he'll now be heading to the Big Ten instead, though.

Despite Kelly's 7-17 record in his first two years with UCLA, the team gradually improved as he established himself as one of the most innovative offensive coaches in the sport once again. The Bruins owned one of the country's top scoring offenses in 2022 and went 8-5 in 2023 despite having multiple quarterbacks start throughout the season.

UCLA won bowl games in each of those years, including a dominant 35-22 victory over Boise State in the 2023 LA Bowl.

He'll be taking over a Buckeyes offense that previously averaged a commendable 30.5 points per game, although the team will be losing Biletnikoff Award winner Marvin Harrison Jr. to the 2024 NFL draft.

Now that Mike Macdonald has officially taken over as head coach of the Seattle Seahawks, his first order of business will be to fill out the staff around him.

Per The Ringer's Benjamin Solak, UCLA head coach Chip Kelly interviewed with the Seahawks about their offensive coordinator position on Tuesday night.

Because the Seahawks were one of the last teams to hire a head coach, many of the top coordinator candidates on both sides of the ball are already off the board.

Macdonald, who spent the past two seasons as the Baltimore Ravens' defensive coordinator, is going to call plays for Seattle's defense. He's still looking for a defensive coordinator.

It's unclear if the Seahawks have had a formal interview with any offensive coordinator candidates other than Kelly.

Ryan Grubb, who was recently named Alabama's offensive coordinator under new head coach Kalen DeBoer, is a target for the Seahawks, per Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio. Grubb has worked with DeBoer since 2014 when they were on the same staff at Eastern Michigan.

Per The MMQB's Albert Breer, the Seahawks have requested an interview with Detroit Lions passing-game coordinator Tanner Engstrand.

Kelly's name has popped up as a potential offensive coordinator for multiple teams this offseason. The Las Vegas Raiders and Washington Commanders considered him before going in different directions.

The 60-year-old Kelly has been UCLA's head coach since 2018. He is 35-34 in six seasons with the Bruins.

Kelly's previous NFL experience includes four seasons as a head coach between the Philadelphia Eagles and San Francisco 49ers from 2013 to '16. He combined to go 28-35 with one playoff appearance with the two teams.

There are reportedly multiple candidates still in the mix for the Las Vegas Raiders' offensive coordinator job after talks with USC senior offensive analyst and quarterbacks coach Kliff Kingsbury broke down.

Kingsbury's agent, Erik Burkhardt, told ESPN's Adam Schefter on Saturday that Kingsbury is not taking the Raiders' OC job despite previous reports that he had agreed to take it.

According to ESPN's Jeremy Fowler, former Chicago Bears offensive coordinator Luke Getsy was considered a "strong candidate" earlier in the Raiders' OC search, and they also spoke to Washington Commanders offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy about their OC job recently.

Per ProFootballTalk, UCLA head coach is rumored to have interviewed "at least twice" for the Raiders' offensive coordinator position as well.

After a 3-5 start to the season in 2023, the Raiders fired head coach Josh McDaniels and offensive coordinator Mick Lombardi and named Antonio Pierce interim head coach.

Pierce went 5-4 the rest of the way and had the team playing much better down the stretch, so he had the interim tag removed and was named head coach after the season ended.

Since he was an NFL linebacker and has a defensive background, Pierce is now searching for someone to run the offense.

Of the available options, Bieniemy is perhaps the most experienced and successful candidate, as he was the Kansas City Chiefs' offensive coordinator from 2018 to 2022, and won a pair of Super Bowls.

He left KC for Washington in 2023 since head coach Andy Reid has always been the Chiefs' offensive play-caller, meaning Bieniemy had his first chance to call plays this season.

The results weren't great, as the Commanders ranked 24th in total offense and 25th in scoring.

Getsy spent the past two seasons as the Chicago Bears' offensive coordinator, and his unit showed improvement from 2022 to 2023.

In his first season, the Bears were 28th in yardage and 23rd in scoring, but they were 20th in total offense and 18th in scoring offense this season.

Kelly has extensive experience as a head coach, serving in that role at Oregon from 2009 to 2012, with the Philadelphia Eagles from 2013 to 2015, with the San Francisco 49ers in 2016 and at UCLA since 2018.

He has also often been an offensive play-caller along the way, the Raiders could represent his ticket back to the NFL.

Regardless of who lands the Las Vegas OC job, the coach will have a tough job ahead of them due to uncertainty at quarterback.

In 2023, rookie fourth-round pick Aidan O'Connell started 10 games, completing 62.1 percent of his passes for 2,218 yards, 12 touchdowns and seven interceptions.

O'Connell acquitted himself well, so he could win the starting job in 2024, or Vegas could look for a new QB in the draft, via free agency or through a trade.

Whatever the case, major improvements are needed for a Raiders offense that ranked 27th in yards and 23rd in scoring in 2023.