Chip Kelly Coaching History: Where Was He Before Las Vegas?

Las Vegas brought in a lot of coaching talent during its most recent renewal cycle. 

While Pete Carroll is likely to be tasked with overhauling the Raiders from an organizational perspective, offensive coordinator Chip Kelly is likely to be tasked with complete control of the offensive philosophy and schemes. He’ll probably have some say in personnel, too.

There are much worse names to consider than Kelly. The longtime college savant has had some tough seasons over the last decade, but he got back to his roots in 2024: an OC who calls plays for high-level offenses. 

Kelly was stationed at Ohio State, where he played a pivotal role in helping the Buckeyes win the national championship.

I’m fairly comfortable in predicting that the Raiders will not win any championships this year. But Kelly has the experience and playbook to make the Raiders a much tougher out for other AFC teams in 2025, especially alongside an experienced organizational lead like Carroll.

While I’m interested in markets like the Super Bowl odds, a look at more narrow Raiders’ odds markets, like their win total, is much more interesting. 

Chip Kelly Coaching History

Chip Kelly, Other Teams Coached

Prior to arriving at Oregon in 2007, Chip Kelly spent more than a decade developing his offense at his alma mater, New Hampshire – an FCS powerhouse in the old days of the CAA. He was in the northeast from 1994-2006, working as a running backs coach (1994-96), offensive line coach (1997-98), and offensive coordinator (1999-2006).

Ironically, Kelly worked on the defensive side of the ball in his opening years as a coach. His first gig was as a defensive backs coach and special teams coordinator at Columbia in 1990. He coached outside linebackers and safeties in 1991 before returning to Durham as the running backs coach in 1992. 

He spent one year as the defensive coordinator at Johns Hopkins before returning to UNH for his formative years on offense.