Chip Kelly opens up on Tom Brady's role in luring him to Raiders with $6,000,000 move

Chip Kelly is returning to the NFL as the Las Vegas Raiders' offensive coordinator after helping the Ohio State Buckeyes to the national title. And as it turns, Raiders co-owner Tom Brady played a part in luring him to Sin City on the largest OC contract in the league - a reported $6 million annually.

Speaking on The Audible on Wednesday, the former Philadelphia Eagles and San Francisco 49ers head coach said of the process of his hiring:

“I talked to two places really that they were aligned from their ownership to their general manager, personnel and head coach, and everybody was on the same page. And I was dealing from a position of strength because I had a really, really good job with really, really good people.”

He then shared Brady's part in the whole process:

“Tom Brady, on the ownership side, he kind of represented the ownership during the interview process. It was cool to listen to their vision and their thoughts on what the Raider way is."

Chip Kelly last coached in the NFL in 2016, when he was in charge of the San Francisco 49ers. His Niners went 2-14 that year, their worst record since 2004. He then spent six seasons as UCLA head coach before getting the job with the Buckeyes last year.

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Chip Kelly shares excitement at working with Raiders HC Pete Carroll

Continuing with the subject of why he joined the Raiders, Chip Kelly also cited the prospect of working with head coach Pete Carroll as another major factor in his decision. He said:

“I’m really excited to be here with Pete, and I think anybody that tries to look too far down the road is going to get run over.”

Of course, Carroll is making history as the oldest head coach in NFL history at 73 years of age. When asked about whether he could succeed his superior and become a head coach again himself, Kelly called the notion "putting the cart before the horse" - something that, if it never happened again, he would he content with:

“That’s not something I need to do or a box I need to check... I’m going to coach for a long, long time as long as someone will have me, whether that’s as a position coach or as a head coach or as a coordinator.”

Chip Kelly also discussed how his playcalling had evolved between his stints at Oregon and Ohio State - particularly his use of huddles:

“It was drastically different from when I was at Oregon and we were trying to get as many snaps a game in as possible and run guys off the field. We’ve evolved that way, just because I think the game itself has evolved. There’s a trend overall that the number of snaps both at the college and NFL level(s) are down, so you have to adjust.”

The Raiders will draft sixth in the upcoming NFL Draft, with quarterback said to be the top priority.