Pro Football Rumors
After a brief return to the NFL, Chip Kelly is going back to college. Northwestern is hiring Kelly as its offensive coordinator, Pete Thamel of ESPN reports.
Kelly previously worked as an offensive coordinator at three other schools – New Hampshire, Oregon and Ohio State – and combined for over a decade of experience. His success as Oregon’s play caller from 2007-08 led to a promotion to head coach in 2009.
Then known as an innovator, Kelly and his fast-paced offense thrived during his four-year stretch as the Ducks’ sideline leader. Under Kelly’s guidance, Oregon posted an incredible 46-7 record and played in four straight BCS bowls.
After winning the Fiesta Bowl to conclude the 2012 season, Kelly made his first jump to the NFL when the Eagles hired him as their head coach to replace Andy Reid. Kelly’s tenure in Philadelphia didn’t go as hoped, however. After back-to-back 10-win seasons and one playoff berth, the Eagles, then 6-9, fired Kelly late in 2015. He finished 26-21 in Philly.
While Kelly immediately landed another NFL head coaching job in San Francisco, he was a one-and-done after a 2-14 showing in 2016. Kelly resurfaced at the college level two years later as UCLA’s head coach.
The Bruins went a mediocre 35-34 in six seasons under Kelly, who left to work as Ohio State’s offensive coordinator in 2024. It proved to be a wise decision for Kelly and the Buckeyes. Thanks in part to Kelly’s offense, Ohio State won the national championship. Current NFL rookies TreVeyon Henderson, Quinshon Judkins and Emeka Egbuka were among the team’s offensive stars.
Kelly impressed enough during his lone season in Columbus that it led to another NFL opportunity. Shortly after grabbing the reins as the Raiders’ head coach, Pete Carroll hired Kelly as his offensive coordinator. Part-owner Tom Brady was instrumental in bringing in Kelly, who became the league’s highest-paid O-coordinator. Despite that, Kelly didn’t even last the year. With the Raiders averaging a paltry 15 points per game through 12 weeks, Carroll fired Kelly on Nov. 24.
Carroll reportedly exerted heavy influence over the Raiders’ offense, which irked Kelly. Considering the success Kelly has enjoyed in college, he shouldn’t run into that problem at Northwestern. Head coach David Braun called the Kelly hiring “a program-defining change” that’s “reflective of our long-term commitment to the pursuit of championships” (via Thamel).
The 61-year-old Kelly will take charge of an offense that ranked an underwhelming 12th out of 18 Big Ten teams in 2025. The Wildcats finished 7-6 and ended their year with a 34-7 win over Central Michigan in the GameAbove Sports Bowl.
