The Las Vegas Raiders acted swiftly in response to their latest offensive letdown.
The team fired offensive coordinator Chip Kelly on Sunday, Nov. 23, just hours after a 24-10 loss to the Cleveland Browns in which the offense surrendered 10 sacks.
‘I spoke with Chip Kelly earlier this evening and informed him of his release as offensive coordinator of the Raiders,’ Raiders coach Pete Carroll said in a statement. ‘I would like to thank Chip for his service and wish him all the best in the future.’
Kelly, the former head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles and San Francisco 49ers, became the NFL’s highest-paid offensive coordinator at $6 million per year, according to multiple reports, when he was hired by Carroll in February.
But the Raiders offense has floundered with him at the helm, with the unit averaging just 3.6 yards per play on Sunday in a defeat that dropped the team to 2-9 on the season. Geno Smith was pressured on a season-high 23 dropbacks, according to Next Gen Stats. Cleveland’s previous single-game best was 15 pressures. Nine different players registered multiple pressures.
‘(I)f you don’t score, you can’t win,’ Carroll aid in a postgame news conference. ‘And we couldn’t score.’
Added Carroll: ‘We had opportunities to make big plays and we didn’t hit them. The QB was under duress the entire time. Our ability to match up with their pass rush didn’t work out well.’
On the season, the Raiders are tied for last in the NFL in points per game (15.0) while ranking 30th in total yards per game (268.9) and 31st in rushing per game (79.5 yards). Smith has taken the second-most sacks of any quarterback (41) and is tied for the league lead in interceptions (13).
Kelly is the second Raiders coordinator to be fired this month, as the team parted ways with special teams coordinator Tom McMahon following a loss to the Denver Broncos.