LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — After hiring Pete Carroll as their new head coach and bringing back Patrick Graham as defensive coordinator, the Las Vegas Raiders make a splash at their offensive coordinator spot.
News broke Sunday afternoon that Tom Brady's Raiders are hiring coaching veteran and respected offensive mind Chip Kelly as the team's new OC.
Kelly, 61, comes off winning a national championship in his lone season as Ohio State's OC and will now take over playcalling duties in Las Vegas. He brings a wealth of coaching experience to the table, including NFL head coach stints for the Eagles and 49ers along with collegiate stops as head coach at UCLA and Oregon.
I caught up with two members of the Raiders superfan group 'The Black Hole' to hear Raider Nation's reaction to the news.
▶ Watch Full interview with Raider superfans reacting to Chip Kelly's hiring
"Big smile on my face," said Cisco 'Kid' Ortega, the president of The Black Hole Las Vegas chapter. "Just coming off a national championship, he called a great game, he's got a great offensive mind. I was happy. I was really happy."
"I'm still not like, RAH!!," Black Hole fan Raider Reggie said. "I'm not running through the door knocking things down, but I'm excited... It feels like a grown-up plan. A plan versus you doing what you have to do because of circumstances."
The Kelly hire comes off the heels of the team bringing Graham back for a fourth season as DC.
Interviewed for the Jaguars head coach vacancy last month, Graham brings continuity to the defensive side of the ball and offers another potential successor for when the 73-year-old Carroll hangs up the whistle.
"Both Chip and Graham gives you an opportunity to move forward if and when we move forward from Carroll," Raider Reggie said.
"I think they're making all the right decisions," Cisco Kid said. "Whether it's having the hire of Pete Carroll opening up some eyes, people seeing that this team is really wanting to win. The addition of Tom Brady making some decisions."
"I hated [Brady] for so long but now that he's on our team, I think he's making some really good business decisions," Ortega continued.
In other assistant news, Rob Leonard was retained as defensive line coach to add a familiar face for Maxx Crosby's defense and Pete Carroll's son, Brennan, takes over as offensive line coach.
"Great improvement," Ortega said when asked how he feels about the team now compared to a year ago. "We got the three-headed monster right now with Chip, Carroll, and Graham's back with us."
"The pieces are starting to form so hopefully it's a beautiful picture when it's all said and done," Ortega said.
Questions are far from being answered this offseason as the Raiders still search for an answer at the quarterback position. The team is slotted at the 6th overall pick in April's draft.
But as a start, a new era for Las Vegas Raiders football has its foundation set with Carroll as HC, Kelly as OC, and Graham as DC.
