Raiders fire OC Chip Kelly after latest poor offensive showing in loss to Browns

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The Las Vegas Raiders have fired offensive coordinator Chip Kelly following Sunday’s 24-10 loss to the Cleveland Browns, NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported.

The team later announced the news.

“I spoke with OC Chip Kelly earlier this evening and informed him of his release as offensive coordinator of the Raiders,” head coach Pete Carroll said in a statement. “I would like to thank Chip for his service and wish him all the best in the future.”

Sunday’s game dropped Las Vegas to 2-9 in Pete Carroll’s first season in the desert. It also was the Raiders’ third straight game with 16 or fewer points under Kelly, who returned to the NFL this year after winning the College Football Playoff national championship last season as Ohio State’s OC.

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To convince Kelly to leave the college ranks, Las Vegas made him the league’s highest-paid coordinator. Now, Kelly’s NFL comeback ends after just 11 games and is reminiscent of his disastrous one-year tenure as 49ers head coach in 2016 when he was fired after a 2-14 season.

Kelly’s offense in Las Vegas was defined by ineffective play from quarterback Geno Smith, whose 13 interceptions lead the NFL, and an inability to utilize first-round rookie running back Ashton Jeanty on a consistent basis.

The Raiders entered Week 12 averaging 15.5 points per game, ahead of only the one-win Titans, and Sunday’s performance did little to instill belief that a fix was on the way. The Browns sacked Smith 10 times and limited Jeanty to 50 yards on 17 carries (2.9 yards per carry), as the Raiders mustered 10 points.

In 11 games, the Raiders only eclipsed 20 points four times under Kelly.

Kelly is the second coordinator fired midseason by Las Vegas after the Raiders axed special teams coordinator Tom McMahon following their Week 10 loss to the Broncos.

Kelly is also the third consecutive OC (Luke Getsy, 2024; Mick Lombardi, 2023) to be fired during the season.

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