The Raiders aren’t messing around this offseason. They are aggressively going after what they want. Though they may not have reeled in the prize head coach candidate of the offseason, with Ben Johnson heading to Chicago, they immediately shifted to landing former Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll.
With Carroll’s legacy established, the Raiders made sure they got their choices at the coordinator positions. First retaining DC Patrick Graham and then quickly nabbing Chip Kelly weeks after he guided a juggernaut Ohio State offense to a National Championship.
They made sure they got their guys by offering them sizable contracts, including making Chip Kelly the highest paid OC in the league.
Give Mark Davis credit too—he prioritized finding partners who’d invest back in the team and it’s happening in a very big way now. DC Patrick Graham, who was already over $3 million per, got a raise to stay as well. https://t.co/utkOIYbjRA
— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) February 3, 2025
Kelly was likely in demand after what he accomplished in his one season in Columbus. Especially when you consider his history as an offensive guru, namely back when he was the offensive coordinator and later the head coach at Oregon.
For the Raiders part, they needed to rebound from their disastrous attempts last offseason where it appeared they were going to be hiring Kliff Kingsbury only to have him back out due to the Raiders being only willing to commit to a two-year contract. Kingsbury instead went to Washington and helped the Commanders in their playoff run.