Tom Brady has a full schedule. Between commentating games for FOX and working as a minority owner of the Las Vegas Raiders, the former New England Patriots quarterback is getting pulled in several directions, generating plenty of controversy in the process.
However, he’s managed to carve out enough time to cobble together a scheme that led the Raiders to get an impressive offensive coordinator position who could be a bigger foundational piece than it appears.
NFL Insider Claims Tom Brady Played Key Role in Chip Kelly Hire
Writing in a May 19 edition of Sports Illustrated, NFL insider Albert Breer claimed that Brady helped bring in new partners, which helped the Raiders in getting Chip Kelly.
“Brady promised to coaching candidates in January that with the presence of his fellow new limited partners, whom he helped bring in, would materially change how the traditionally cash-poor Raiders would operate,” Breer wrote.
“With Brady’s business partner Tom Wagner, Silver Lake CEO (and Manchester City board member) Egon Durban and Discovery Land founder Michael Meldman in the fold, the Raiders have delivered on that, maybe most notably in paying $6 million per year to pry offensive coordinator Chip Kelly from Ohio State,” he added.
According to The Columbus Dispatch, Ohio State paid Kelly $2 million per season, but the Raiders tripled his salary to land the offensive coordinator.
Kelly’s Future With the Raiders Could Be Bigger Than It Appears
Of course, at face value, the move appears to be Brady pulling every string he can to improve his team in any way possible. However, there could be an ulterior motive to adding Kelly to the offense beyond getting the best out of players like Ashton Jeanty and Geno Smith.
Here's EXACTLY how Chip Kelly got Ashton Jeanty to change his pre-snap stance. 😂 🏀 #Raiders @AshtonJeanty2 @PaniniAmerica pic.twitter.com/VAqaA5sPpV
— Kay Adams (@heykayadams)
It isn’t any secret that this could be Pete Carroll’s final tenure in the NFL. Experienced head coaches don’t grow on trees, and the Raiders now have an offensive coordinator who has worked as a head coach in the past.
Kelly has coached in 63 games in his career, including stops with the Philadelphia Eagles and San Francisco 49ers. If the Carroll experiment were to go down in flames, the Raiders have the perfect name lying in wait.
Kelly spent just one season at Ohio State, but he won the national championship. As such, his career appears to be on an upward trajectory, which could be an enticing proposition if Carroll struggles.
Of course, with every other team in the AFC West coming off playoff seasons, the Raiders have pressure to catch up. Will Carroll be able to do it before potentially losing the reins to Kelly?
