NFL To Hire Ohio State Buckeyes Offensive Coordinator Chip Kelly?

Is Ohio State Buckeyes offensive coordinator Chip Kelly returning to the NFL?

The former Oregon Ducks and UCLA Bruins coach won the first national championship of his career with Ohio State and coach Ryan Day. Now, CBS Sports' Jonathan Jones has reported that Kelly is at the top of multiple NFL teams' lists for their offensive coordinator openings. Jones specifically mentioned the Jacksonville Jaguars and Houston Texans as teams that are interested in Kelly.

After taking Oregon to a national championship game, Kelly left college football for the NFL. With four years of head coaching experience in the NFL, it appears as though some teams are looking to bring him back to the professional leagues.

Jan 18, 2025; Atlanta, GA, USA; Ohio State Buckeyes offensive coordinator Chip Kelly during 2025 CFP National Championship Media Day at Georgia World Congress Center, Building A. | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Most NFL teams with head coaching vacancies have made hires, like the Las Vegas Raiders and Pete Carroll, the Chicago Bears and Ben Johnson, or the New York Jets and Aaron Glenn. As a result, the focus shifts to offensive and defensive coordinators being hired.

The Houston Texans and quarterback C.J. Stroud lost to the Kansas City Chiefs in the Divisional Round of this year's NFL playoffs, and Houston fired offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik once the season ended. Will Texans coach DeMeco Ryans look to pull Kelly away from Ohio State?

The Jacksonville Jaguars recently hired Liam Coen, the former Tampa Bay Buccaneers offensive coordinator, as their head coach in a rather dramatic saga. Will Jacksonville look to pair the offensive minds of Coen and Kelly together to help develop franchise quarterback Trevor Lawrence?

In his report, Jones also mentioned the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as a team of interest for Kelly after Coen left Tampa Bay for Jacksonville in this year's coaching carousel.

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In this year's College Football Playoff, the Buckeyes were practically unstoppable. In Ohio State's four postseason games, Kelly's offense averaged over 35 points scored per game.

After the national championship victory over Notre Dame, Day gave credit to Kelly and Ohio State's offensive staff.

“It becomes almost what I feel, almost more like the NFL. You got to wipe the slate clean, and you got to, you got to put a whole new game plan together in about 10 days, and you got to go put it on the field. And hats off to our coaches," said Day.

Oct 12, 2024; Eugene, Oregon, USA; Ohio State Buckeyes head coach Ryan Day talks to offensive coordinator Chip Kelly prior to the NCAA football game against the Oregon Ducks at Autzen Stadium | Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Ohio State and Kelly were certainly not limited at talent on offense, with quarterback Will Howard, wide receivers Jeremiah Smith and Emeka Egbuka, as well as running backs Quinshon Judkins and TreVeyon Henderson.

Whether Kelly is interested in a return to the NFL is still unknown. The former Oregon Ducks coach left his head coaching position with the UCLA Bruins to work as the offensive coordinator at Ohio State.

The move paid off in a national championship, but does Kelly have his sights set on something bigger, like a Super Bowl win?

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