With Pete Carroll taking over as head coach in Las Vegas, he got pretty much the best case scenario for his coordinators. He got well-respected defensive coordinator Patrick Graham to stick around to offer some continuity on the defense, while landing Chip Kelly fresh off guiding the Ohio State Buckeyes to a National Championship.
Graham has been mentioned in regard to head coaching opening in recent years in part due to the successes of the Raiders‘ defense under his guidance the past three seasons.
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Kelly, on the other hand, had his turn as the hot name as a head coach. After rising the Oregon Ducks into the national title conversation, first as OC and then over four seasons as head coach, he got the call to the NFL to become the head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles. That lasted three years. Then one year in San Francisco and the luster had worn off.
Then, much like Carroll’s career trajectory when he left the NFL to coach at USC, Kelly returned to the college ranks, taking over as the head coach at UCLA. But his run there was not nearly as successful. And, according to Kelly, he burnt out on being a head coach and opted to return to his roots as an OC.
That decision was a successful one, obviously. It took just one season before the NFL came calling again.
Kelly returns to the spotlight where he was once considered the hottest offensive mind in football. And Pro Football Focus has him on the short list of hot coordinator names who, should they have success this season, could find themselves (back) in the head coach conversation.
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Others on the list are already hot names such as Bills OC Joe Brady, Vikings DC Brian Flores, Commanders OC Kliff Kingsbury, and Chargers CB Jesse Minter.
I think the list should have Patrick Graham on it. After all, he started to gain interest this offseason and if he can keep the Raiders defense humming despite losing both starting linebackers, starting safeties, and starting cornerbacks, there would leave little doubt of his abilities.
Kelly has said that he rekindled his love for football by walking away from the head coaching job at UCLA. Which would suggest that he wants to stick with being an OC. But would he still feel that way should he have several NFL teams on the phone after this season? Who really knows. Pete Carroll and the Raiders are hoping Kelly would opt to continue doing what he loves — coaching the offense.
This article originally appeared on Raiders Wire: Raiders coordinator among hot names who could enter head coach conversation in 2025
