Why did Raiders hire Chip Kelly? Former Ohio State offensive coordinator joins Pete Carroll’s staff in Las Vegas

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The Raiders are entering a new era. The Las Vegas front office decided a full season was enough for Antonio Pierce, firing him at the end of the 2024-25 season. Shortly after, the Raiders announced the hiring of Super Bowl-winning head coach Pete Carroll. 

The former Seahawks coach was off the sidelines for a season, but he still served as an analyst for Seattle. Carroll now gets to fill out his coaching staff, and he tabbed a familiar name for offensive coordinator.

Former Ohio State OC Chip Kelly will be joining Carroll’s staff with the Raiders. Kelly was last in the NFL as the head coach for the 49ers in 2016 and has spent the past nine seasons coaching in college. 

Here’s why Las Vegas hired Kelly. 

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Why did Raiders hire Chip Kelly?Kelly himself played defensive back in college. He started out coaching on that side of the ball, but he’s since become an offensive guru and head coach. He was leading NFL sidelines from 2009-16 before taking over at UCLA from 2018-23. Kelly most recently served as Ohio State’s offensive coordinator, helping the Buckeyes to a national championship win over Notre Dame. 

The Buckeyes did enough on offense to win a natty, but its elite defense often received more credit. Still, Kelly is a widely regarded offensive mind and play-caller, and he should be able to mold a new quarterback with second-year TE Brock Bowers. 

Carroll already brings plenty of experience to Las Vegas. He is the NFL’s oldest head coach and won the Super Bowl with Seattle in 2014. Kelly never won a Super Bowl while with the Eagles or 49ers, but his national championship offense at Ohio State averaged the 17th-most points per game out of 134 FBS teams. 

Chip Kelly coaching recordCoaching:

YearsSchoolRecord2009-2012Oregon46-72018-2023UCLA35-34NFL:

YearsTeamRecord2013-2015Eagles26-21201649ers2-14Chip Kelly coaching timelineOregon offensive coordinator (2007-2008)Oregon head coach (2009-2012)Philadelphia Eagles head coach (2013-2015)San Francisco 49ers head coach (2016)UCLA head coach (2018-2023)Ohio State offensive coordinator (2024)

Teddy Ricketson

Teddy Ricketson is a Digital Content Producer at The Sporting News. He joined the team in 2024 after spending the last three years writing for Vox Media as part of its DK Nation/Network team. Teddy does his best to support the South Carolina Gamecocks and Carolina Panthers, but tends to have more fun cheering on the Atlanta Braves. In his free time, he loves spending time with his wife, Brooke, and their two dogs, Bo and Hootie.