Bruins’ Former Coach Chip Kelly Gets High Praise from Geno Smith

From 2018 to 2024, Chip Kelly served as UCLA Football's head coach. Over the 6 year span, Kelly was 35-34 with one Bowl victory against the Boise State Broncos (2023 LA Bowl), while the Bruins were only Bowl eligible 3 times.

After the 2024 season, Kelly moved to become the new offensive coordinator for the Ohio State Buckeyes, shortly before UCLA's spring practice and an upcoming move from the Pac-12 to the Big Ten Conference.

Kelly replaced Bill O'Brien, and helped the Buckeyes to a National Championship. This got the NFL's attention, where the Las Vegas Raiders hired him to be their new OC under head coach Pete Carroll. With the 2025 NFL season about to be underway, Kelly is working hard on integrating his schemes into this new team.

So far, he's been doing a great job.

"Chip's a great coordinator," said Raiders' QB Geno Smith in a recent presser. "He does a lot of great things, and he makes the game easy on the players. That's something that you really appreciate as a quarterback."

Both Kelly and Carroll are new to the Raiders and yet the expectations only continue to grow. In training camp, the coaching staff has been taking it slow, making sure every player is on the same page and building chemistry with one another.

"I think we're getting better each and every day," Smith continued. "Obviously, it's going to be back and forth between us and the defense., that's what you want. The defense is out there making great plays, they got great players as well. I think we've gotten a lot more comfortable in the scheme, we're executing and doing things a lot better, we're making more adjustments. So, it's an ongoing process, it's always going to be like that. It's always going to be a developing situation, but we're at a really good spot right now."

The Raiders faced off against the Seattle Seahawks, Carroll's old team, in a Week 1 Preseason matchup. When the final whistle blew, the game was tied in a 23-23 draw, but it showed a lot in terms of Las Vegas' potential.

Aug 7, 2025; Seattle, Washington, USA; Las Vegas Raiders running back Chris Collier (35) carries the ball against the Seattle Seahawks during the second half at Lumen Field. Mandatory Credit: Steven Bisig-Imagn Images | Steven Bisig-Imagn Images

As the season progresses, Kelly will be able to get more comfortable within his offense, and so will his players. The Raiders are going to be a team you want to keep an eye on this season.

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