Chip Kelly reportedly returning to college football as Northwestern's offensive coordinator

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Chip Kelly is heading back to the Big Ten.

The former Oregon head coach has agreed to be Northwestern’s new offensive coordinator, according to ESPN. Kelly was Ohio State’s offensive coordinator in 2024 as the Buckeyes won the national championship but left OSU after one season to become the offensive coordinator for the Las Vegas Raiders.

Kelly’s second stint in the NFL did not go well. Kelly lasted just 12 games as the Raiders' play-caller before he was fired. Oakland has one of the worst offenses in the league in 2025 — things haven’t gotten much better since Kelly left — and the 2-14 Raiders are in prime position for the No. 1 pick in the 2026 NFL Draft after losing to the New York Giants in Week 17.

In 2024, Ohio State averaged 6.9 yards per play and scored nearly 36 points per game as the Buckeyes ran roughshod through the College Football Playoff. Ohio State scored 34 or more points in three of its four playoff games; its lowest-scoring game of the postseason was a 28-14 win over Texas.

Kelly came to Columbus to call plays for Ryan Day’s team from Los Angeles. After six seasons as UCLA’s head coach, Kelly left to become an assistant coach for the first time since 2008 when he was Oregon’s offensive coordinator. Since that season with the Ducks, Kelly had been Oregon’s coach for a season and coached the Philadelphia Eagles for three seasons and the San Francisco 49ers for a season.

Northwestern’s offense is in need of a boost. The Wildcats finished the season 7-6 with a 34-7 win over Central Michigan in the GameAbove Sports Bowl on Dec. 6. That was just the third time all season the team had scored more than 22 points against an FBS opponent.

The Wildcats finished the season 98th in the country with 23.4 points per game and averaged 5.4 yards per play. QB Preston Stone threw for just 2,400 yards over 13 games and completed 60% of his passes.

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