Chip Kelly’s stint as the Raiders’ offensive coordinator — and as the NFL’s highest-paid OC — lasted just 11 games.
Las Vegas fired Kelly on Sunday, the team announced, after the Raiders’ dreadful 2-9 start to the season where the Geno Smith-led offense sat tied for last in the NFL in points per game (15.0) and averaged the third-fewest yards per game (268.9).
“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 press release. “I would like to thank Chip for his service and wish him all the best in the future.”
The Raiders, who travel to face the Chargers next Sunday and already had their bye in Week 8, didn’t announce an interim offensive coordinator.
Chip Kelly is pictured before the Raiders’ Nov. 6 game. AP
Kelly, the former Eagles and 49ers head coach who bolted to the NFL in 2013 following his successful run with Oregon, joined Carroll’s staff in the offseason on a deal worth approximately $6 million, according to ProFootballTalk. The Raiders also fired special teams coordinator Tom McMahon earlier this month.
He spent 2024 as Ohio State’s offensive coordinator — helping guide the Buckeyes to a national title and orchestrating the unit quarterbacked by Will Howard — before returning to the NFL for his first stint as a coordinator in the league.
Kelly was also the head coach of UCLA in 2023.
The decision to fire Kelly occurred after the Raiders fell to the Shedeur Sanders and the Browns, 24-10, for a fifth consecutive loss.
They didn’t score a touchdown until there were just over five minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, and Smith completed 30-of-44 passes for 285 yards and a touchdown.
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The Raiders — and Kelly, by extension — built their offense around Smith after acquiring him from the Seahawks and then inking the one-time Jets castoff to a $75 million extension.
Las Vegas also drafted star running back Ashton Jeanty at No. 6 overall in April’s draft, too.
But the offense’s potential never consistently appeared, as the Raiders topped 25 points just once — during a 30-29 overtime loss to the Jaguars in Week 9 — so far this season.
And that, then, all led to Sunday’s change.