A Chicago Bears front office secret weapon has been successfully wooed by another organization.
Champ Kelly is on to a new endeavor:
Anthony "Champ" Kelly has been named Assistant General Manager of the Las Vegas Raiders.
Release ยป https://t.co/Mx34jXZb4n pic.twitter.com/UGX0QGjIaB
— Las Vegas Raiders (@Raiders) February 2, 2022
The Raiders announced Kelly’s hiring as the team’s new assistant general manager on Wednesday. In that role, Kelly will report to new GM Dave Ziegler, who recently joined the team (along with new head coach Josh McDaniels) after being with the Patriots. Kelly should have some familiarity with the Raiders, especially since he was interviewing with Vegas for the team’s GM opening in January. And while Kelly didn’t get the job, he must’ve liked the situation enough to jump on a new gig.
Kelly had been with the Bears since 2015, thriving as the Director of Pro Scouting (2015-16) and Assistant Director of Player Personnel (2017-21) roles in Ryan Pace’s front office. And as Patrick most recently highlighted, Kelly was expanding into new and different roles within the organization as a way to show off his versatility. I don’t imagine there are many player personnel types willing to help coach in the booth and on the sidelines. But Kelly is different. Hence, he was a popular choice among players to get the Bears GM gig when interviewing for it after it came open. That job ultimately went to Ryan Poles. And with Ian Cunningham coming in as Poles’ top lieutenant, Kelly was left to look elsewhere for a promotion.
Here’s to Kelly thriving in a new role with a new team. Make no mistake, this is a well-deserved promotion for Kelly. No, the Bears won’t get any compensation for losing Kelly to another team. Just as the Eagles aren’t getting any after Chicago poached Cunningham. But if Kelly does well in Las Vegas, he’ll continue to climb up organizations. More importantly, maybe he will get to run his own show. After interviewing with the Bears, Raiders, Broncos, Panthers, and Jets, it is only a matter of time.