Raiders head coach Pete Carroll suggested when asked about his offense’s struggles that he wants to see better play calling from offensive coordinator Chip Kelly.
Asked what the Raiders have to do to get quarterback Geno Smith on track, Carroll said Smith would benefit from the Raiders calling more running plays.
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“We have to run the football better, more,” Carroll said. “And we’re going to continue to work at tit and see if we can’t continue to bring it to life. The running game has looked well in order right now, we need to get more of them. That’s part of it. That’s just mixing football. That’s how you do it. We don’t ever want to rely on the quarterback has to do the whole show, sitting in the shotgun, throw the football. Never coach that way. So we have to mix our stuff so we can use our play action game.”
Carroll then said running back Ashton Jeanty can play well when he gets opportunities, and noted that Smith isn’t the one calling the plays.
“I was pleased with how we saw Ashton come to life on the edge,” Carroll said. “He made some nice plays and stretched the defense and put some threat on them with that. And we’ve got to make sure that we’re calling all the best stuff in the situations. He’s not calling the plays. We’ve got to call them and we’ve got to make sure and get him in the right spots and give him the best chance to stay out of harm’s way. Part of that is really controlling the game with what we do in front in the running game.”
Carroll didn’t mention Kelly by name, but that’s who’s in charge of the Raiders’ offensive play calling. If Carroll wants the Raiders to call better plays, that means Carroll wants Kelly to do his job better.
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Kelly, who was previously head coach of the Eagles and 49ers as well as Oregon and UCLA, was once viewed as the most innovative offensive coach in football. His reputation took a hit with his struggles in the NFL, but in 2024 he was offensive coordinator at Ohio State and helped the Buckeyes win the national championship, and when Carroll got the Raiders’ top job, he brought Kelly in. Now Carroll sounds like he’s not pleased with his offensive coordinator, a month into their first season working together.
