The Northwestern Wildcats feel like they’re on an upward trajectory under soon-to-be fourth-year head coach David Braun.
They have good reason to feel that way, too. Northwestern has gotten better in each of his first three seasons, with the apex (so far) being last season’s 7-6 campaign that featured several impressive wins.
Northwestern beat the Penn State Nittany Lions, Purdue Boilermakers, Minnesota Golden Gophers and Central Michigan Chippewas (in a bowl game).
Braun has now gone out this offseason and added one of the most intriguing minds in football, not just in college football.
That would be new head coach Chip Kelly, who made a name for himself years ago as head coach of the Oregon Ducks.
Kelly has had an up-and-down career, which has featured high points in college football and low points in the NFL. Last season, he was the offensive coordinator of the Las Vegas Raiders, but he was fired after just 11 games (2-9 record).
He decided to come back to the college ranks for 2026, though, and he saw an intriguing opportunity coaching under Braun at Northwestern.
“You’re excited about moving into a new stadium, excited about an up-and-coming team,” Kelly said in a news conference on Wednesday, according to Adam Rittenberg of ESPN. “The landscape of college football has changed, as everybody knows, so it’s a chance to start with a really good program, with really good people. That’s what it was about.”
Northwestern HC David Braun feeling confident in Chip Kelly’s offense
Northwestern has been busy this offseason.
Bringing in Kelly was the big move, but the Wildcats also hired up-and-comer Jerry Neuheisel as the team’s new quarterbacks coach. He’s the son of former college head coach Rick Neuheisel and spent the last eight games of the 2025 season calling plays for the UCLA Bruins.
Jerry Neuheisel had worked under Kelly when Kelly was the head coach at UCLA from 2018 to 2023.
These changes led Braun to believe that the Wildcats can make some big-time noise in 2026. In fact, he’s talking like he thinks Northwestern can “pull an Indiana” and compete for the top of the Big Ten.
“If we’re in a boldly state that the goal and expectation is to compete and win Big Ten championships, if you’re not on board with that vision, then you shouldn’t be here,” Braun said. “And if you are on board with that vision, you’re going to be willing to adapt to change. … It’s been fun for me to observe the collaboration and the relationships that are being formed on this entire staff, but especially on the offensive side of the ball.
“I would argue we’ve got the best offensive staff in all of college football.”
Kelly has also had stints as the head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles and San Francisco 49ers.
He was the offensive coordinator for the Ohio State Buckeyes when they won the national championship in the 2024 season.
