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Chip Kelly landed in familiar territory Saturday. The Ohio State football offensive coordinator is garnering renewed interest from NFL teams seeking his services.
The national champion winning coordinator is at the top of the list for “several NFL teams,” per CBS Sports NFL insider Jonathan Jones. The insider, though, zeroed in two teams targeting Kelly.
“Kelly is considered a target for both the Jaguars and Texans OC positions, sources say,” Jones said.
Jacksonville hired Liam Coen as head coach Thursday. Coen now needs to pick out his first offensive coordinator. Houston, meanwhile, fired Bobby Slowik after witnessing a decline in production this past season. The AFC South teams, however, aren’t the only OC openings linked to Kelly across the league.
“He also could get looks in Tampa Bay, among other potential landing spots,” Jones said, as the Buccaneers need to replace Coen.
Kelly is regaining steam across the league for the second straight offseason thanks to his offensive work.
The Las Vegas Raiders expressed interest in Kelly during Jan. 2024. The franchise then targeted another prominent college football name in Kliff Kingsbury. However, the Raiders eventually settled for Luke Getsy. Vegas fired Getsy during the regular season and promoted Scott Turner.
Kelly then surfaced as a contender for the Commanders’ open OC job in Feb. 2024. Kingsbury, however, took that job and is now one game away from the Super Bowl.
Teams have clearly watched Kelly’s ’24 work in Columbus. The Buckeyes finished fourth in averaging 429.4 yards per game. Ohio State ranked second in scoring offense by tallying 35.7 points per game.
Kansas State transfer Will Howard delivered his first career 4,000-yard season under Kelly’s coaching. Kelly then produced two different 1,000-yard rushers in TreVeyon Henderson (1,016) and lead rusher Quinshon Judkins (1,060). Both backs also combined for 24 touchdowns. Howard added his own rushing element by scoring seven times off carries.
Of course, Kelly’s work with the wide receiver room has sparked interest about what the 61-year-old can do for an NFL offense. Freshman wide receiver Jeremiah Smith dominated defenses by catching 76 passes for 1,315 yards and scored 15 touchdowns — the latter two stats leading OSU. Incoming NFL WR Emeka Egbuka led the Buckeyes with 81 receptions while tallying 1,011 yards and 11 touchdowns.
The league currently has 11 open OC positions. That includes Kelly’s former team, the San Francisco 49ers — who Kelly coached in 2016. The Raiders are also going to need a new offensive play caller now that Pete Carroll is taking over as HC.
Kelly’s other former team, the Philadelphia Eagles, could end up needing an offensive coordinator too. Kellen Moore interviewed for multiple head coach openings. But the New Orleans Saints are the last team that hasn’t named a new coaching leader.
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