There has been no shortage of blame to go around for the Las Vegas Raiders during the 2025 NFL season. But head coach Pete Carroll won't fire either of his sons, so he attempted to make special teams coordinator Tom McMahon the scapegoat.
When that obviously did not solve the team's issues, the Raiders needed to look elsewhere to place the blame. They landed on offensive coordinator Chip Kelly, who, after being made the highest-paid coordinator in NFL history this offseason, was fired on Sunday evening following the game.
The move made sense, as Las Vegas has the worst offense in the league by several metrics, and they looked like even more of a mess in Week 12 against the Cleveland Browns than they have all season. The surroundings certainly weren't perfect for Kelly, but letting him go was the right move.
Chip Kelly's first quote after being fired proves Raiders made right call
After he was relieved of his duties in Las Vegas, FOX Sports' Jay Glazer was able to speak with Kelly and get a quote from him about his time with the Silver and Black. It is fairly emblematic of why he was fired in the first place.
“I am grateful for the opportunity with the Raiders. Bottom line, in this league, you have to win," Kelly said. "I really loved those players. I’m a huge, HUGE Geno Smith fan. That was one of the best parts of this experience for me, working with Geno and those guys every day. But hey, we gotta win. I get it.”
While the majority of this quote is incredibly gracious and appreciative, it's the middle part that is so puzzling. Why would a coach, many of whose struggles can be attributed to the quarterback position, go out of his way to compliment that quarterback after being fired?
RELATED: Pete Carroll said the worst thing possible after Raiders' meltdown vs. Browns
Smith has led the NFL in interceptions for the majority of the season, and the Raiders have plenty of young offensive talent. Kelly's choice to single out Smith with his praise shows poor judgment and evaluation, which was a theme throughout his tenure in Las Vegas.
Of course, Smith may be a great quarterback to work with. But Smith has been arguably the Raiders' biggest issue this season, and if not him, the offensive line, led by Carroll's son. When an offensive coordinator is scapegoated for those issues after 11 games, it's weird for him to make such a remark.
At the end of the day, it is increasingly likely that none of the major pieces in Las Vegas will be around next year, and that is fine. Kelly was just the next logical domino to fall, as Carroll is unlikely to bench his hand-picked quarterback, nor fire his son.
But this puzzling quote by Kelly is a weird way for him depart the franchise.