Just minutes after Northwestern defeated Central Michigan 34-7 in the GameAbove Sports Bowl, ESPN’s Adam Rittenberg reported that “an offensive reset is coming” for coach David Braun and his squad.
It only took a few days for a domino to fall, when NU announced Tuesday that Chip Kelly was named as its offensive coordinator, replacing Zach Lujan.
“Make no mistake: this is a program-defining change and is reflective of our long-term commitment to the pursuit of championships,” Braun wrote in the news release.
Kelly has 35 years of experience coaching in the NFL and in college football. Most recently, he served as offensive coordinator for the Las Vegas Raiders before being fired in the middle of the 2025 season.
NU’s newest offensive mind also had head coaching stints at Oregon and UCLA at the collegiate level and with the Philadelphia Eagles and San Francisco 49ers in the NFL. Additionally, he was the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Ohio State when the program won its ninth national championship at the end of the 2024 season.
“I am honored to join the Northwestern Football program,” Kelly wrote in the release. “This program and university are clearly on the rise, and the values of the people and this place align with my own. I am grateful for the opportunity. There is tremendous potential under Coach Braun’s leadership, and I’m ready to contribute to this team.”
NU’s outgoing offensive coordinator Lujan spent two seasons in the role, but the offense never quite had the power to achieve the team’s goal of competing among the top teams in the Big Ten.
Despite the struggles, Braun told the media in a Tuesday press conference that there was no directive from Athletic Director Mark Jackson to make a change at the offensive coordinator position or to specifically go after Kelly.
“Part of the job that I don’t always enjoy is making hard decisions that you ultimately feel are in the best interest of the long-term health of the program that affect individuals that you really care about,” Braun said. “As I went through that evaluation process post regular season … I felt like it was a needed change for our program if we truly want to talk about winning Big Ten Championships.”
Braun explained that his interactions with Kelly come from a level of appreciation for what he has accomplished. Braun added that Jackon’s relationship with Kelly probably put him in a position to see if the now-offensive coordinator was interested in the opportunity.
Through those countless conversations, Braun said it became very evident that a collaboration might be something of mutual interest. His pitch to Kelly started with alignment and an opportunity to work with a great collection of student athletes.
Kelly’s pedigree speaks for itself. During his time in Columbus, Ohio, Kelly’s offense averaged 36.3 points per game in four College Football Playoff victories. The unit had the No. 14 nationally ranked scoring offense at the season’s end. His 2021 UCLA team ranked No. 12 nationally in scoring offense.
Over the span of Kelly’s three seasons coaching the Eagles, the franchise ranked top four in the league in scoring offense, total offense and rushing offense.
“I want him bringing all his creativity, all his aggressiveness,” Braun said. “Ultimately, for us to win Big Ten Championships, we’re going to have to have the ability to score more points than we have over the course of the last X amount of years here at Northwestern.”
For Braun, Kelly is someone who can teach him about mistakes or what has worked well as a head coach.
“His head coaching experience is something that I can’t wait to tap into,” Braun said. “The ability that him and I are going to be able to have conversations about what it looks like. Me being able to bounce ideas off of him, him being able to bounce ideas off of me.”
With the transfer portal window opening shortly, Braun said it was critical to button up the hiring of Kelly in advance.
Someone like Kelly brings a lot of perspective and value to pour into players who choose to join the program.
“If you’re a recruit or someone that’s looking to come to Northwestern football, you’d be crazy not to say, ‘Gosh, I get an opportunity to work with Chip Kelly and this staff, that’s pretty special,’” Braun said.
Email: [email protected]
X: @adub_sports
Related Stories:
— Captured: Northwestern takes down Central Michigan in the GameAbove Sports Bowl
