The Las Vegas Raiders are hiring Ohio State offensive coordinator Chip Kelly as their offensive coordinator, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter and Pete Thamel.
It marks a return to the NFL for Kelly, who served as the Philadelphia Eagles head coach from 2013-2015 and the San Francisco 49ers head coach in 2016. Kelly has been in college since 2018, as he worked as UCLA’s head coach from 2018-2023 before leaving to join Ohio State last season.
Kelly will work under Pete Carroll, who the Raiders hired as head coach this week. With Caroll’s hiring, there were rumors that Darrell Bevell, who worked as the Seahawks offensive coordinator under Carroll with Russell Wilson at quarterback, would work as Las Vegas’ offensive coordinator, but the team opted to go with Kelly, who emerged as a hot name after helping lead Ohio State to a National Championship in 2024. Last night, NFL insider Aaron Wilson tweeted that sources expected the hire to be Bevell, but things clearly changed at some point and the Raiders will land Kelly.
With Las Vegas going with Kelly instead of Bevell, it’s one less connection for Wilson in Las Vegas. Rumors of Wilson to Vegas would’ve heated up even more had Bevell been hired, and while the connection with Caroll is still there, the dot-connecting won’t be as strong with Kelly hired over Bevell.
Bevell could still wind up joining Las Vegas’ staff, but he currently serves as the Miami Dolphins’ passing game coordinator and the Raiders role would likely need to be a promotion for him to leave. With Chip Kelly aboard, the Raiders will likely be linked to Ohio State quarterback Will Howard, who emerged as one of the top quarterbacks in the draft with a strong showing in the College Football Playoff.
Wilson’s future in Pittsburgh remains up in the air as he’s set to be a free agent in March, and team owner Art Rooney II said the team will likely only bring back one of Wilson or QB Justin Fields, who started the first six games of the season for Pittsburgh while Wilson recovered from a calf injury. While Wilson’s Steelers tenure started off strong, he faded down the stretch with the Steelers offense failing to score 17 points or hold a lead in their last five games, leading to speculation that the Steelers could choose to move on this offseason.
Las Vegas will likely be a contender for Wilson’s services if he does leave Pittsburgh, and he could be a veteran mentor for a younger quarterback like Howard if the Raiders do go that route. But with Bevell not being hired, there won’t be as many clear connections to Wilson with the Raiders.
