The Las Vegas Raiders are making bold moves this offseason in a bid to be competitive in the tough AFC West.
After getting Pete Carroll to sign on as the head coach, the team successfully lured Chip Kelly away from Ohio State to be the offensive coordinator. The experienced coach is an offensive guru and should immediately improve a weak Raiders’ offense.
The Kelly move was surprising to some, as the coach had just won a national title with the Ohio State Buckeyes. 2024 was Kelly’s first season at Ohio State as well, making it more surprising that the coach was willing to leave.
However, NFL insider Adam Schefter appeared on the Pat McAfee Show on Monday and revealed how the Raiders were able to land Kelly.
Schefter explained that the new owners who have recently bought into the franchise, including Tom Brady, have allowed the team to spend aggressively. With new owners comes an influx of cash, and Kelly is now the highest-paid assistant coach in the NFL, set to make $6 million.
“This is where the new money and the limited owners have come into play, because Mark Davis got an infusion of money from the limited owners that included Tom Brady, and they now can go out and spend that money on guys like Chip Kelly. There’s no salary cap for coaches. You’re capped on what you can and can’t spend on players, but there’s no cap on coaches,” Schefter said on the Pat McAfee Show on Monday.
Schefter also mentioned that the influx of cash will help the team lure free agents with signing bonuses and guarantees.
“So that’s going to be something I think the Raiders lean into as they try to make up ground on the rest of the teams in the AFC West and in that conference,” Schefter added.
This is an exciting development for a Raiders team that has plenty of ground to make up to compete with the likes of the Kansas City Chiefs, Denver Broncos, and Los Angeles Chargers. Kelly was reportedly close to landing the offensive coordinator job with the Raiders last offseason, but pulled out due to staffing concerns.
The team has successfully landed a quality head coach and offensive coordinator, now free agency and the draft are the next items on the to-do list.
