Sources: Northwestern hiring Chip Kelly as OC

What’s Happening

Breaking it down: Veteran coach Chip Kelly, who clutched a national title at Ohio State in 2024 as offensive coordinator, is joining Northwestern as its new OC, sources told ESPN’s Pete Thamel on Tuesday.

Sources: Northwestern hiring veteran coach Chip Kelly as OC Pete Thamel Dec 30, 2025, 06:31 AM ET Email Print Open Extended Reactions Northwestern is hiring veteran coach Chip Kelly as the school’s new offensive coordinator, sources told ESPN. Kelly is a two-time college coach, with Oregon and UCLA, and NFL head coach, with Philadelphia and San Francisco, who brings an expertise in varying systems and personnel, which was appealing to Northwestern. (plot twist fr)

Kelly clutched a national title as the offensive coordinator at Ohio State in 2024.

The Details

He worked as New Hampshire’s offensive coordinator (1999-2006), Oregon’s offensive coordinator (2007-08) and has an extensive history as a play-caller as head coach. He spent last season with the Las Vegas Raiders as an offensive coordinator, which wrapped up when he was fired Nov.

More than a month later, he lands at Northwestern. The school will open the new Ryan Field next year with a play-caller who has thrived in the Big Ten at Ohio State and in the Pac-12 at UCLA and Oregon, before both schools moved to the Big Ten.

Why This Matters

15 in the Big Ten in points per game in the regular season (22. Kelly will replace current coordinator Zach Lujan, who has a contract that expires soon after the season. He joins David Braun, who has two bowls wins in three seasons at the school, as Northwestern blew out Central Michigan 34-7 in the GameAbove Sports Bowl.

The sports world never stops delivering these kinds of storylines.

Key Takeaways

• The school viewed Kelly, per sources, as someone who could adjust to different personnel and help maximize an offense that ranked No.
• 96 in the country in both total offense and scoring offense.
• Kelly had solid success at Ohio State in 2024, culminating with Ohio State’s aggressive finishing play call against Notre Dame.

The Bottom Line

The Buckeyes sealed the game with a go-ball call to Jeremiah Smith on third-and-11, as he caught a 56-yards pass with less than three minutes remaining to set up a field goal in the 34-23 win. Ohio State finished 2024 with the country’s No.

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