Kelly Skipper is in his sixth season with the Raiders, the fourth in his present capacity tutoring running backs, after two years as tight ends coach.
Kelly Skipper is in his sixth season with the Raiders, the fourth in his present capacity tutoring running backs, after two years as tight ends coach.
Skipper, 45, has 24 years of coaching experience and has served as an offensive coordinator at the NCAA Division I level.
Last season, Skipper tutored a rushing attack that ranked seventh in the NFL with an average of 131.9 yards per contest. RB Michael Bush rushed for a career-high 977 yards and RB Darren McFadden rushed for 614 yards and averaged 5.4 yards per carry, despite having his season cut short due to injury.
In 2010, he oversaw a running game that ranked second in the NFL and established a franchise record by averaging 4.9 yards per attempt. Under Skipper’s direction, McFadden became the first Raider since 2007 to eclipse the 1,000-yard mark with 1,157 yards on the ground. The tandem of McFadden and Bush totaled 1,812 yards and 15 touchdowns. In 2009, Raiders running backs averaged over 4 yards per carry under Skipper’s coaching.
In 2008, tight end Zach Miller led the Raiders in receptions (56) and receiving yards (778) to place eighth in the NFL among tight ends. Skipper tutored a Raider tight ends unit in 2007 that included Miller, who led all rookie tight ends in receptions and ranked fourth in the NFL among all rookie pass catchers with 44.
Before joining the Raiders, Skipper spent four seasons coaching running backs and special teams at Washington State. He also spent two summers, one with Seattle and one with Washington, as an NFL minority fellowship coaching intern.
From 1998-02, Skipper was on the coaching staff at UCLA, where he was offensive coordinator from 2001-02. He has tutored a number of players who went on to the NFL, including Lorenzo Neal, Michael Pittman, DeShaun Foster, Chris Ivory and Jed Collins. Skipper also coached Jerome Harrison, who broke Washington State’s single-season rushing record after running for 1,900 yards.
He was an assistant at Fresno State, his alma mater, from 1989-97, beginning his coaching career as a graduate assistant before becoming a full-time assistant in 1991. He handled running backs and return specialists, and served as recruiting coordinator on the Bulldogs’ staff.
Skipper’s father, Jim, is a longtime NFL assistant currently serving as running backs coach of the Tennessee Titans, and was head coach of the XFL’s San Francisco Demons.
The Brawley, Calif., native played running back at Fresno State and rushed for 2,237 career yards to rank on the Bulldogs’ top-10 list. He also scored 28 touchdowns during his college career, as Fresno State went 36-9-1. As a senior, Skipper was a first-team All-Big West running back and earned Associated Press All-America honorable-mention honors.
He earned a degree in business from Fresno State in 1989. He was inducted into the Churchill (Eugene, Ore.) High School Hall of Fame in 2008. Skipper and his wife, Mary, have two children, Kaelen and Darius.
