One of Pete Carroll’s biggest moves in his first offseason as the Head Coach of the Las Vegas Raiders was bringing Geno Smith to the Silver and Black – reuniting with a star quarterback he previously coached with the Seattle Seahawks. Raider fans are anxious to see how the reunion will work out in Vegas.
But on Thursday May 29, 2025, Smith was singing the praises of a different coach – Raiders new offensive coordinator Chip Kelly. The QB even went as far as to share that playing for Kelly is something that he has always wanted to do.
“In many ways it’s a dream come true because I’ve always revered Coach Kelly,” Smith said during his media availability at OTAs. “I’ve always thought that he’s been an excellent coach throughout his career and a guy who I really wanted to play for even back in high school.”
Kelly recruited Smith out of high school when he was the head coach at Oregon, and even offered him a scholarship during the recruitment process. But Smith ultimately chose to play football at West Virginia.
But at long last, Smith and Kelly will be working together after the Raiders hired Chip Kelly back on February 4. The day after he was hired, on February 5, Kelly shared that coaching alongside Pete Carroll was not an opportunity he felt he could pass up.
“I think everybody in the coaching profession, if you get a chance to work with Pete Carroll, you’re pretty excited about it,” Kelly said.
Chip Kelly Is Coming Off a National Title
Chip Kelly has had many different high-profile jobs across the NFL and the college football world. But this past year, he finally won his first big trophy: a College Football Playoff National Championship.
He helped the Ohio State Buckeyes capture their second national championship in the CFP era as their offensive coordinator.
Now, he’s back in the NFL for the first time since the San Francisco 49ers fired him from their head coaching position at the conclusion of the 2016 season. He’s hoping he can help the Raiders return to glory and add a trophy to their trophy case as well.
When Kelly was asked on Thursday, May 29 what he wanted the identity of his offense to be in 2025, he put it very simple, calling back to a famous mantra from Raiders owner Al Davis.
“JWB,” Kelly said. “Just win, baby.”
Smith Seeks Another Great Year
The Seattle Seahawks disappointed their fans in 2024, managing a 10-7 record overall but struggling to a 3-6 record at home and narrowly missing the playoffs for the second straight year.
Individually however, Smith quietly had another solid season. He missed the Pro Bowl for the first time since 2021, but set a new Seahawks franchise record with 4,320 passing yards and had a career-high completion percentage of 70.4%.
His interception numbers were up however; he tossed 15 picks on the season.
Smith will need to clean up the turnovers if he wants to make another appearance in the Pro Bowl – and more importantly for Silver and Black faithful, the playoffs.
Luckily for him, it seems like he has a great relationship with both Caroll and Kelly, two accomplished coaches who should help him take his game to new heights in 2025.
