The Las Vegas Raiders managed to fill their vacant offensive coordinator position by stealing Chip Kelly from the Ohio State Buckeyes. And according to the man himself, it sounds like legendary former quarterback and Raiders minority owner Tom Brady played a big role in convincing him to return to the NFL.
After helping Ohio State win the National Championship this year as their offensive coordinator, Kelly drew interest from several teams across the NFL. However, he only spoke with two teams, because he knew that if nothing panned out, he’d be content to stick with the Buckeyes as their offensive coordinator.
“I talked to two places really that they were aligned from their ownership to their general manager, personnel and head coach, and everybody was on the same page. And I was dealing from a position of strength because I had a really, really good job with really, really good people,” Kelly said on “The Audible.”
Las Vegas Raiders minority owner Tom Brady
© Bill Streicher-Imagn Images
One of those teams happened to be the Raiders, who have a new minority owner, Brady, that has been very involved with their front office. After officially getting hired by Las Vegas, Kelly admitted that Brady played a big role in convincing him to ditch Ohio State and return to the NFL.
“Tom Brady, on the ownership side, he kind of represented the ownership during the interview process. It was cool to listen to their vision and their thoughts on what the Raider way is,” Kelly said on “The Audible.”
Kelly will be working with head coach Pete Carroll, who is returning to the NFL after a one-year hiatus. The duo will be looking to get the Raiders back on track, as they have finished the past three seasons with a sub-.500 record, and Brady is hoping that Kelly can work the same magic that just helped the Buckeyes win a National Championship.