To convince Kelly to leave the college ranks, Las Vegas made him the league’s highest-paid coordinator. Now, Kelly’s return to the NFL ends after just 11 games and is reminiscent of his disastrous one-year stint as the 49ers’ head coach in 2016 when he was fired after a 2-14 season.
Kelly’s offense in Las Vegas was defined by ineffective play from quarterback Geno Smith, whose 13 interceptions lead the NFL, and an inability to capitalize on rookie first-round quarterback Ashton Jeanty.
The Raiders entered Week 12 averaging 15.5 points per game, just ahead of the Titans by one win, and Sunday’s performance did little to inspire belief that a turnaround is on the way. The Browns sacked Smith 10 times and limited Jeanty to 50 yards on 17 carries (2.9 yards per carry), as the Raiders mustered just 10 points.
In 11 games, the Raiders scored just 20 points four times under Kelly.
Kelly is the second coach to be fired midseason by Las Vegas after the Raiders fired special teams coordinator Tom McMahon following their Week 10 loss to the Broncos.
Kelly is also the third consecutive OC (Luke Getsy, 2024; Mick Lombardi, 2023) to be fired during the season.