Raiders Rumors: Chip Kelly Eyeing OC Job on Antonio Pierce’s Coaching Staff

Scott Polacek@@ScottPolacekFeatured Columnist IVJanuary 30, 2024

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Chip Kelly might be eyeing a return to the NFL.

Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk noted some people from around the league have speculated that the UCLA head coach could be targeting the Las Vegas Raiders’ offensive coordinator opening.

“With Antonio Pierce taking over as head coach, the Raiders will need a good offensive coach,” Florio wrote. “It’s not known, however, whether Pierce would be interested in adding Kelly to his staff.”

While Kelly has a high-profile job with UCLA, Jonathan Jones of CBS Sports reported earlier this month that he was “mentioned as a possible offensive coordinator by multiple head coaching candidates this cycle.”

The coach who is known for his fast-paced offense that mixes in run-pass option looks has found more success at the college level than in the NFL to this point.

He went 46-7 in four years with Oregon that included an appearance in the BCS national championship game and two Rose Bowls. He then parlayed that into a head coaching job with the Philadelphia Eagles in 2013 but was fired in his third season with a 26-21 record.

Kelly then went 2-14 as the head coach of the San Francisco 49ers in 2016.

He has been at UCLA since 2018 and hasn’t replicated some of the success he enjoyed with the Ducks. The Bruins are 35-34 during his tenure and could face even more difficulty in the immediate future with a pending move to the Big Ten and 2024 games against LSU, Oregon, Penn State, Washington and USC.

Offense has rarely been the issue for Kelly, so an offensive coordinator role would make sense were he to return to the NFL.

There is an opening with the Raiders, but the potential connection seems to be largely speculative at this point.