Ohio State Offensive Coordinator Chip Kelly Leaving Buckeyes for NFL’s Las Vegas Raiders

Chip Kelly is leaving the Buckeyes after one year as Ohio State’s offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach to become the offensive coordinator of the NFL’s Las Vegas Raiders, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter and Pete Thamel.

He becomes the third assistant coach to leave Ohio State this offseason, joining defensive coordinator Jim Knowles and offensive line coach Justin Frye. Knowles left the Buckeyes to become the defensive coordinator at Penn State while Frye left Ohio State to become the Arizona Cardinals’ offensive line coach.

Per the terms of the three-year contract Kelly signed with Ohio State last year, Kelly will owe Ohio State a $350,000 buyout for leaving Ohio State to become an NFL assistant coach.

Kelly had expressed interest in becoming an NFL offensive coordinator last offseason before he became Ohio State’s offensive coordinator. Kelly joined Ohio State’s staff last February, replacing Bill O’Brien when he left Ohio State after just three weeks as offensive coordinator to become the head coach at Boston College.

Ryan Day turned to Kelly, who Day’s had a close relationship with since Kelly was his offensive coordinator during his playing days at the University of New Hampshire, to take over Ohio State’s offensive play calling in 2024, marking the first time in Day’s six-year tenure as head coach that he delegated play-calling duties.

With Kelly calling Ohio State’s offensive plays and coaching the Buckeyes’ quarterbacks, Ohio State scored 35.7 points per game – an increase of more than five points per game from 2023 – and Will Howard completed a school-record 73% of his passes while leading the Buckeyes to a national championship.

Now, Ohio State will be looking for a new offensive coordinator for the third year in a row. The Buckeyes previously promoted Brian Hartline to offensive coordinator in 2023 after Kevin Wilson left to become the head coach at Tulsa, though Hartline – who now holds the title of co-offensive coordinator – was not the primary play-caller in that role.

While it’s possible Ohio State could turn to a familiar face like Wilson (who remains in the job market after Tulsa fired him in November) or Hartline to be the offensive coordinator again in 2025, Ohio State should have no shortage of interest from coordinators around the country in the opportunity to lead an offense that will feature a host of talented players led by superstar wide receiver Jeremiah Smith.

Kelly returns to the NFL for the first time since he was the head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles from 2013-15 and the San Francisco 49ers in 2016. He went on to be the head coach at UCLA from 2018-23 before leaving that post to join Day’s staff last offseason, citing a desire to spend more time coaching football rather than the CEO aspects of being a head coach.