Update >> Northwestern has now made this official.
Just two years removed from helping Ryan Day and Ohio State bring a national title back to Columbus, reports share this morning that Chip Kelly is returning to the Big Ten as offensive coordinator.
Kelly is expected to become the new offensive coordinator at Northwestern for David Braun, multiple reports share.
The former head coach at both UCLA and Oregon, with a reputation as one of the game’s most creative and efficient play callers at points in his career, Kelly helped the Buckeyes rank among the top 15 in scoring offense. While at UCLA his Bruins twice led the Pac-12 in scoring (2020 and 2021) while also having establishing the run arguably better than any team in the league as well
The veteran head coach and offensive play caller left Ryan Day’s staff to return to the NFL as Pete Carroll’s offensive coordinator after the Buckeyes national title run, but after a 2-9 start he was ultimately dismissed in late November.
At Northwestern, he joins Braun’s staff as the school is set to open a new Ryan Field next season, after playing in perhaps the most unique makeshift stadium in college football history, located on the shores of Lake Michigan. The new Ryan Field carried an estimated cost of about $850 million.
We shared news yesterday that Braun was set make a change atop their offense, parting ways with offensive coordinator Zach Lujan after a season where the Wildcats continued to struggle offensively, averaging just over 23 points per game and less than 350 yards per game on the season, ranking near 100th nationally in each of those respective categories.
Kelly had also been in the mix for the offensive coordinator opportunities at North Carolina under Bill Belichick and Georgia Tech under Brent Key.
The staff he joins in Evanston is led by the 40-year old Braun, who will be entering his fourth season leading the Northwestern program. Braun has went 19-19 overall leading the Wildcats, going 8-5 in his debut season in 2023, then 4-8 in 2024 before a 7-6 and season this past fall after a recent win in the GameAbove Sports Bowl. Braun, the former defensive coordinator for multiple national titles at FCS power North Dakota State, was tabbed as head coach following the dismissal of longtime head coach Pat Fitzgerald, who was accused of allowing hazing within the program before he was fully exonerated years later, and has now landed at fellow Big Ten foe Michigan State as the new leader of the Spartans.
