We’ve known for a while that Las Vegas Raiders coach Pete Carroll and offensive coordinator Chip Kelly haven’t been on the same page this season, but a new reported indicated that Kelly was making mistakes as a result of not even knowing the playbook.
This led to Carroll firing Kelly, according to a report from Michael Davis Smith of Pro Football Talk. Kelly would call plays incorrectly, or he’d call plays that weren’t even part of the Raiders playbook, which would put quarterback Geno Smith in an impossible position, according to Tom Pelissero of NFL Network.
“There were times, I was told, where Chip Kelly was repeatedly botching the play calls, where he’s supposed to be, for instance, tagging the motion on a play, so the receiver’s on the left, not the right. He forgets to say it, so Geno Smith is at the line of scrimmage going, ‘This doesn’t look right’ and they’re trying to run a play,” Pelissero told Rich Eisen. “Chip, I was told, on several occasions called a play that was either not in the game plan or not installed at all.”
None of this is all that surprising if you’ve been able to stomach Raiders football in recent games. The most recent verification of the disorganization came in the Raiders embarrassing 24-10 loss to the Browns, as Smith was sacked ten times for 77 yards.
That’s a level of chaos you rarely see in the NFL, even among the worst teams. The new hire is Greg Olson, who’s worked with Carroll before, so presumably he’ll know the playbook, and Olson has also been an offensive coordinator for three other NFL teams.
As for Kelly, he’s looking more and more like a college guy whose approach and philosophies just didn’t work all that well at the NFL level. His NFL jobs include head coaching stints with the Philadelphia Eagles and San Francisco 49ers, along with this year’s job as OC for the Raiders, and all three jobs have ended badly. He’ll likely return to the college game, although Kelly’s career does appear to be in a downward spiral at this point.
The Raiders are hoping to end their current downward spiral this Sunday against the Los Angeles Chargers, but their chances aren’t looking good. The Chargers still have a lot to play for, and disposing of the Raiders quickly and efficiently will be their goal as they continue to jockey for position in the tight AFC West standings.