Patriots Insider Floats ‘Outside-The-Box’ Offensive Coordinator Candidate

Chip Kelly, unlike other coaches who’ve been linked to Patriots this offseason, has never served on the same staff as Mike Vrabel.

But there are links between Vrabel and Kelly, the offensive coordinator of the Ohio State Buckeyes. Those links prompted ESPN’s Mike Reiss to label Kelly as an “outside-the-box” candidate for New England’s offensive coordinator.

“When Vrabel was initially hired as Titans coach in 2018, then-Ohio State co-offensive coordinator Ryan Day was among those he pursued as his OC,” Reiss wrote. “Day’s mentor, Chip Kelly, currently serves as Ohio State’s OC and would be an outside-the-box possibility for Vrabel to consider.”

Josh McDaniels continues to be viewed as the favorite to become the Patriots offensive coordinator, though it’s unclear whether he’s interviewed for the position. New England reportedly interviewed Thomas Brown, who served as the Chicago Bears’ interim head coach and offensive coordinator, and requested to interview Los Angeles Chargers passing game coordinator Marcus Brady.

The 61-year old Kelly, a native of Dover, N.H., hasn’t worked in the NFL since 2016. He served as the Philadelphia Eagles head coach for three seasons (2013-2015) and then was the San Francisco 49ers head coach for one season (2016), following his impressive run at Oregon.

Kelly coached the UCLA Bruins for six seasons (2018-2023) following his run in the NFL. He left UCLA and joined Day’s staff at Ohio State, helping the Buckeyes to the College Football Playoff National Championship against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish on Monday.