Even though they only won four games last year, the Las Vegas Raiders are falling drastically short of their expectations for 2025. Of course, there have already been multiple scapegoats, with the Raiders firing special teams coordinator Tom McMahon. More recently, they’ve moved on from offensive coordinator Chip Kelly.
Considering the Raiders rank 31st in scoring this season, we really didn’t need any further evidence for why Las Vegas felt they needed to make a change on offense. Yet, an NFL insider has just provided some more insight into exactly where Kelly was going so wrong.
According to the NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, coach Kelly was frequently messing up the team’s play calls, often calling plays that weren’t even in the playbook. Basically, he kept setting Geno Smith up to fail, and it was up to the quarterback to try setting things right with time winding down on the play clock.
“There were times, I was told, where Chip Kelly was repeatedly botching the play calls, where he’s supposed to be, for instance, tagging the motion on a play, so the receiver’s on the left, not the right. He forgets to say it, so Geno Smith is at the line of scrimmage going, ‘This doesn’t look right’ and they’re trying to run a play. Chip, I was told, on several occasions, called a play that was either not in the game plan or not installed at all.”
Tom Pelissero on Chip Kelly’s playcalling
Will we see better results from Smith and the rest of the Raiders offense now that Kelly is gone? Only time will tell.
Plus, it’s not like Kelly was the one out there forcing Smith to throw interceptions. Yet, having the right play call will surely help Smith regulate things at the line of scrimmage, forcing him not to have to make rushed decisions on the fly. We’re eager to see how the Raiders’ operation changes from here, because they have plenty of room for growth.
Related: 2025 NFL Report Card: Grading All 32 Teams Before Week 13
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Sports fan since birth. I am also passionate about cars, music, and anything funny. Minnesotan, born and raised. Maybe ... More about Andrew Buller-Russ