This Raiders' Offseason Addition Will Make Headlines in 2025

"Most fans know Kelly’s path to the NFL. He turned Oregon into a college football powerhouse from 2009 to 2012 before taking over as head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles. After three years in Philly and one season with the [San Francisco] 49ers in 2016, he took a year off before accepting the head coaching job at UCLA in 2018," Sikkema said.

"His six-year stint with the Bruins wasn’t bad, but it fell short of the impact many expected, leading to his voluntary exit to become offensive coordinator at Ohio State.

"That move paid off. Under Kelly’s guidance, the Buckeyes won a national championship last year, with quarterback Will Howard blossoming down the stretch. Howard earned passing grades above 80.0 in five of his final eight games, including throughout the College Football Playoff. That success propelled Kelly back to the NFL as offensive coordinator for Pete Carroll’s Raiders."

Sikkema noted that Kelly has a chance to catapult his name back into NFL head coaching conversations if he can help a struggling Raiders offense turn things around.

"If Kelly can unlock similar production from Geno Smith and light up the scoreboard in Las Vegas, it will make headlines, and his name will once again surface in head coaching conversations," Sikkema said.

However, earlier this offseason, Kelly quickly put an end to that idea. Kelly explained that his only focus is on the task at hand.

“I think you got the cart way ahead of the horse. I'm really, really excited to be here with Pete [Carroll]. And I think anybody that tries to look too far down the road is you're going to get run over. You better make sure you concentrate on exactly what's right in front of you. And I don't have to be a head coach again. That's not something I need to do, or a box I need to check," Kelly said.

"I just really enjoy coaching, and I'm fired up to be around Pete. He's got an infectious personality  that I think will pervade through this entire organization. And really, the challenge to go against the best in the world player-wise and coaching-wise is what I want to do.

"And really not concerned, if I never coach again after this season, then I would have a life that I've never dreamed I could ever have in football, but I'm going to coach for a long, long time. As long as someone will have me, and whether that's as a position coach, or as a head coach, or as a coordinator, I'm not really caught up in that stuff.”

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