Chip Kelly was relieved of his duties as the Las Vegas Raiders offensive coordinator on Sunday, as the team posted a 2-9 record with Kelly overseeing the offense. The former UCLA head coach’s return to the NFL was short-lived and not all that memorable.
There are plenty of things wrong with the Raiders offense and Kelly leaving won’t fix all of them but Pete Carroll and the Raiders brass decided to sever ties with the $6 million coordinator. Let’s look back on how things went wrong.
Ashton Jeanty was brought in to improve the running game
The Raiders named Kelly as their OC back in February and then tried to get him some weapons in the NFL Draft. Las Vegas had an absolutely brutal time running the football in 2024, posting a league-worst 79.8 rushing yards per game, and they tried to fix that in the first round by taking Boise State’s Ashton Jeanty.
Rookie Jack Bech looks like a miss early on
Jeanty looks good but it’s hard for him to make much of a difference behind the Raiders abysmal offensive line that’s been without left tackle Kolton Miller for much of the season. In the second round, the Raiders selected wide receiver Jack Bech. Bech has had a very quiet rookie season, hauling in just eight catches.
Las Vegas tried to improve at quarterback with Geno Smith
The Raiders, coming off of a Gardner Minshew/Aidan O’Connell quarterback duo, traded for Seattle’s Geno Smith but Smith has looked like a different quarterback away from Seattle and has struggled mightily throughout the season, having thrown as many interceptions as touchdown passes. Smith and the Raiders have taken the second-most sacks this season with only the Tennessee Titans have been sacked more than the Raiders 41.
The Chip Kelly tenure started with a win
The season got off to a good start for Las Vegas, winning in Week 1 over the Patriots but since then the Raiders have gone 1-9 and scored more than 20 points just three times. Kelly joined a struggling team for his return to the NFL but he certainly hasn’t elevated the group like he was intended to.
UCLA wouldn’t re-hire Kelly, would it?
Kelly is now available just in time for the UCLA head coaching position, or he could find another job as a coordinator at the collegiate level, which he had success with in 2024 with the Ohio State Buckeyes.
This article originally appeared on UCLA Wire: What went wrong for Chip Kelly and the Las Vegas Raiders?
Reporting by Dylan McNeill, UCLA Wire / UCLA Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
