The Las Vegas Raiders are in jeopardy of losing one of their more important staff members in their front office. I know that sounds alarming, but as alarming as it is, the Raiders may be extremely happy when it happens, for a few good reasons -- one that will only help them in the long run tremendously.
If you haven't heard about Champ Kelly by now, well, you've been living under a rock.
Champ Kelly is the Assistant General Manager for the Las Vegas Raiders in the NFL. He played college football at the University of Kentucky as a wide receiver and defensive back from 1998 to 2001. After earning his degree, he worked briefly as a software engineer at IBM before entering football full-time. Kelly started his football career with the Lexington Horsemen in indoor football, where he played, coached, and served as GM, winning a championship in 2004.
Kelly joined the NFL in 2007 with the Denver Broncos as a scout, eventually becoming Assistant Director of Pro Personnel over eight years. He helped the team win four AFC West titles and reach a Super Bowl in 2013. In 2015, he moved to the Chicago Bears as Director of Pro Scouting, later becoming Assistant Director of Player Personnel from 2017 to 2021, notably aiding in the acquisition of Khalil Mack.
In 2022, he joined the Raiders as Assistant GM. After Dave Ziegler was fired in October 2023, Kelly served as Interim GM, posting a 5-4 record. Although he didn’t get the permanent GM job in 2024, he stayed on as Assistant GM with Tom Telesco in that regime.
Kelly has been considered for GM roles with teams like the New York Jets, Atlanta Falcons, Denver Broncos, and now Jacksonville Jaguars as of this week.
Jaguars interviewed Raiders' Champ Kelly for GM job
The Jaguars are strongly considering Champ Kelly for their GM job, and that may sound alarming because, hey, the Raiders would be losing a guy who is very important to their franchise. But, it's not a bad thing.
First of all, it's Kelly's time to become a general manager now. He's served his time and proved his worth. The Raiders value him greatly, but they also want to see him get the best position possible because he deserves it and they want to see him do great.
Secondly, the Raiders would be allotted two compensatory picks, two third-rounders, one in 2025 and one in 2026, if the Jaguars or any other team were to hire Kelly as general manager. That would certainly help this rebuild.
