Las Vegas Raiders offensive coordinator Chip Kelly set the record straight—he did not change Ashton Jeanty's signature stance.
During his time at Boise State, Jeanty was known for his unusual stance in which he would stand up straight in the backfield before the snap. After he was drafted by the Raiders, Jeanty was seen in practice with a new stance, bending at his knees and shoulders, a more traditional stance for a running back.
At OTAs, Kelly cleared up that it was running backs coach Deland McCullough, not him, who changed the stance. Jeanty recalled to Kay Adams earlier this month that Kelly told him a basketball analogy as he was changing his stance, but that was mistakenly interpreted by the masses as Kelly directly prompting the switch.
"Let's get that clarified," Kelly said Thursday. "Deland McCullough, our running backs coach, is in charge of stances, steps, alignments, assignments and techniques, so he talked to him about that. I gave him an analogy of an athlete being in a bent knee position to make a play. ... I didn't tell anybody on this team to be in any stances because I don't coach positions."
#Raiders OC Chip Kelly clears the air on the Ashton Jeanty stance change
— Jesse Merrick (@JesseNews3LV) May 29, 2025
Said their RB coach Deland McCullough handles stance, alignment, etc. so he talked to Jeanty about the stance change
On the stance change: "It literally is about three inches so I don't think it's that… pic.twitter.com/Scc7kAvf2S
Kelly went on to explain the significance of bending the knees in a stance, and also noted that it's just a mere change in his body position before the snap.
"It's a bent knee game," Kelly continued. "... In any athletic sport you're playing, you've got to bend your knees. If you've got to run a flat route against Fred Warner, you better be in a position to run because that dude can fly. You know? So, all we're trying to do is put guys in positions to make plays. He's adapted really well from going from here to here. It literally is about three inches, so I really don't think that is that big a deal. But he's awesome, and he's such a coachable guy."
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Raiders OC Chip Kelly Sets the Record Straight on Ashton Jeanty's Stance Change.
