Chip Kelly Gets Emotional College Football Call From Josh Pate After Raiders Fire Him

This article was originally published on Total Pro Sports.

Chip Kelly’s Vegas experiment didn’t even make it to a full season. After just 11 games of sputtering offense, Pete Carroll and the Raiders pulled the plug on their offensive coordinator.

The breakup wasn’t exactly shocking; the Raiders have been fielding one of the league’s most lifeless attacks. Vegas is tied for dead last in points per game (15.0), sits 30th in total yards (268.9), and ranks 31st on the ground (79.5). They’ve put up fewer than 10 points in four different games, more than anyone else, and Geno Smith’s slide from his 2024 form has been brutal as he sits 32nd in QBR.

“I spoke with Chip earlier this evening and informed him of his release,” Carroll said in a statement. “I’d like to thank him for his service and wish him all the best.”

While the NFL hasn’t rolled out the red carpet for Chip Kelly, the college football world is warming up the welcome-home parade. CFB analyst Josh Pate even hopped on X to lift Kelly’s spirits, posting, “You belong with us. Come home.”

It’s a wild turnaround considering Vegas made Kelly the highest-paid OC in the NFL this season. But the production never matched the paycheck. The loss to the Browns marked their fifth straight L, sealed a fourth straight losing season, and added yet another chapter to an 18-season stretch of misery since 2002.

Chip Kelly Leaves Raiders With Classy Message After Sudden Firing

Who would have thought an association that just started back in February would come to an end after merely nine months? Well, not long after getting shown the door, Kelly fired off a classy parting shot to Raider Nation.

“I am grateful for the opportunity with the Raiders, bottom line in this league you have to win,” Kelly said, via NFL insider Jay Glazer. “I really loved those players, I’m a huge, HUGE Geno Smith fan, that was one of the best parts of this experience for me, working with Geno and those guys every day. But hey, we gotta win. I get it.”

Chip Kelly reportedly pulled in around $6 million a year, making the exit even louder. Moreover, Pete Carroll didn’t name an interim OC to finish out the season, leaving Vegas to figure out who’s holding the play sheet next.