Former San Francisco 49ers head coach Chip Kelly is now the offensive coordinator for the Las Vegas Raiders and is having a rough go. Niners fans are all too familiar with this tailspin from his time in the Bay Area.
The Raiders lost a brutal game last Sunday to the Jacksonville Jaguars to drop to 2-6 on the season. Head coach Pete Carroll is in his first season with the Raiders, but the misery is rising and there is already speculation that Las Vegas could move on from him after just one year.
The fact that both Carroll and Kelly are the faces of the dumpster fire in Vegas has to be satisfying for Niners fans who were tormented for years by Carroll when he was the head coach of the Seattle Seahawks, while Kelly had one haunting season in San Francisco and led the team to a dismal record of 2-14, which led to his firing and replacement by current head coach Kyle Shanahan.
49ers fans won’t be surprised by Chip Kelly’s failing with Raiders
The Raiders have been bad this year, and a big reason for that has to do with their offense. They are averaging a dismal 16.5 points per game, which is one of the lowest marks in the NFL, and there are not many signs that things will get better.
Geno Smith has had a rough time as the quarterback, as he has thrown 11 touchdowns and 11 interceptions on the year. Plus, rookie running back Ashton Jeanty has not gotten going, as he has just 487 rushing yards and three touchdowns on the season.
Kelly certainly deserves a fair amount of the blame, given he is the one calling plays on offense. Smith has proven he can be a capable quarterback in the past, and he has solid targets like Brock Bowers to throw to. But it seems that Kelly has had a hard time adjusting back to the NFL after he went right back to the college ranks following his firing in San Francisco.
Really, the struggles in Las Vegas seem to be the result of a poorly run organization. The Raiders have been bad for a long time, and the issues seem to extend much deeper than their offensive coordinator.
Yet, Niners fans cannot help but laugh as the Carroll-Kelly calamity gets even worse in Las Vegas.
Unless things change quickly, it would not be a huge surprise if this ends up being a one-year endeavor, not unlike Kelly’s last stint in the NFL.
