Maxx Crosby shares harsh truth about Raiders' firing of OC Chip Kelly

Shortly after the Las Vegas Raiders fell to 2-9 on the season via a 24-10 loss to the Cleveland Browns this past Sunday, the Raiders fired first-year offensive coordinator Chip Kelly.

During Monday's edition of the "Let's Go!" SiriusXM show and podcast, Raiders star pass-rusher Maxx Crosby suggested he understands why Kelly was shown the door ahead of Thanksgiving. 

Raiders "needed to make a change" amid offensive struggles

"When Chip was here, he was always good to me, and we had a cool relationship," Crosby explained, per Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk. "Unfortunately, this is a production-based business, and if the offense is struggling, you know, I feel like it’s just, it comes down to, it’s production at the end of the day. The offense has been struggling and felt like, you know, we needed to make a change. So that’s above my pay grade. But at the end of the day, I wish the best for Chip, and I know he’ll be back doing his thing soon." 

The numbers support Crosby's comments. ESPN stats show the Raiders ended Week 12 ranked 30th in the NFL with an average of 268.9 total yards gained per game and tied for last with an average of 15.0 points scored per contest. 

According to Pro Football Reference, Las Vegas quarterback Geno Smith began Tuesday ranked 32nd in the league among qualified players with a 29.3 adjusted QBR for the campaign. He and Tua Tagovailoa of the Miami Dolphins have thus far thrown a league-high 13 interceptions this season. Most recently, Smith took 10 sacks during the loss to the Browns. 

Pete Carroll explains firing of Chip Kelly

Before the "Let's Go!" episode dropped, Raiders head coach Pete Carroll addressed why he relieved Kelly of his duties. 

"I thought it was too painful where we were, and the play has not been good enough," Carroll said, per Levi Edwards of the Raiders' website. "And I'm really surprised as well that this has happened, but I think our players deserve it, and our fans deserve that we give them our best shot, and that's what competing is all about. And so, it falls in line philosophically. It's just a very difficult time to have to do this. And unfortunately, this would not have happened, but we're 2-9."

The Raiders next play at the Los Angeles Chargers (7-4) this coming Sunday. As of Tuesday morning, ESPN BET had Las Vegas as a 9.5-point underdog for that matchup.