Geno Smith Shares Thoughts On OC Chip Kelly

A lot has been made of the Las Vegas Raiders’ additions this offseason. In particular, new head coach Pete Carroll, quarterback Geno Smith and rookie running back Ashton Jeanty are expected to help bolster this Raiders offense. But the improvement on that side of the ball will also fall heavily on new offensive coordinator Chip Kelly.

This is Kelly’s first return to the NFL since 2016, when he was head coach of the San Francisco 49ers. Since then, he has been in the college football world, most recently serving as offensive coordinator of Ohio State University, helping them win a National Championship last year.

Now Kelly is looking to make a significant impact on this Raiders offense, and his quarterback believes he is off to a great start so far, as Smith spoke about via Michael Canelo of Yard Barker:

“I think Chip [Kelly] has done a good job, number one in imputing his style of play. We want to be tough, we want to be physical, we want to attack the line of scrimmage,” said Raiders quarterback Geno Smith. “He has done a good job putting us in a position to make plays. We’ve got a lot of great weapons on offense. So he is putting the guys in position to make plays.”

“You can see it out there from day one, guys that were touching the ball and getting in open space, and I think Chip has been doing a great job of just helping us get better, and it is only going to improve as we go.”

The most important thing for the Raiders is that everyone is on the same page, and that certainly seems to be the case so far. The Raiders offense has the pieces to be much-improved in 2025, and if Kelly can put them in the right positions to succeed, this unit can give defenses fits.

Smith is very familiar with Carroll from their time together in Seattle, but he has never worked with Kelly, so for him to be bought in on what they can do together for the Raiders is a good sign as training camp kicks off.

Geno Smith wants ‘explosive’ Raiders offense in 2025

For his part, Geno Smith has already spoken about the type of offense he wants with the Raiders in 2025. The Raiders quarterback wants this offense to be efficient and explosive this season, and it sounds as if Chip Kelly is putting them in position to do exactly that.