Raiders offensive coordinator Chip Kelly made sure to set the record straight Thursday about who exactly was responsible for changing the pre-snap stance of rookie running back Ashton Jeanty.

“Let’s get that clarified,” Kelly said after an organized team activity practice at the team’s facility in Henderson. “Deland McCullough, our running back coach, is in charge of stances, steps, alignments, assignments and techniques. So he talked to (Jeanty) about that.

“I just gave him an analogy of an athlete being in a bent-knee position to make a play, and that kind of got blown into (something bigger). I haven’t told anybody on this team to be in any stance because I don’t coach a position.”

Jeanty generated a great deal of headlines nationally when he told “Up & Adams Show” host Kay Adams that Kelly approached him on the first day of rookie minicamp and requested he abandon his infamous stance that became popular at Boise State. The stance involved him standing perfectly upright in the backfield before the snap, a posture that social media users have often compared to “Halloween” villain Michael Myers.

The way Jeanty told the story, Kelly asked the No. 6 overall pick to bend his knees in a more traditional stance and made the comparison to a defensive player in basketball.

While Kelly cited McCullough for making the switch, he did have a conversation with Jeanty about the reasoning.

“It’s a bent-knee game,” Kelly said. “Baseball, before the pitch is thrown, everyone’s got their knees bent. In any athletic sport, you’ve got to bend your knees. And if you’re going to run a flat route on (49ers linebacker) Fred Warner, you better be in a position to run because that dude can fly. So all we’re trying to do is put guys in positions to make plays.

“And he’s adapted really well from going from here to here, so it literally is about three inches. So, I really don’t think it’s that big a deal.”

‘Tough to get him down’

In the end, Kelly is far more concerned with how Jeanty finishes plays than how he starts them.

Kelly and his staff have already been impressed with everything they’ve seen from Jeanty, and they haven’t even witnessed the part of his game that truly separates him because there is no tackling this time of year.

Kelly raved about Jeanty’s ability to shed defenders, specifically pointing to his performance against Penn State in the College Football Playoff when he ran 30 times for 104 yards. While the numbers were far from overwhelming, Kelly said Jeanty broke about 35 tackles against a very good defense.

“That was a little bit different league for Boise State at that time,” Kelly said. “But not for Ashton.

“His ability to sustain runs after contact and his contact balance is a really rare quality. He’s got a low center of gravity. It’s so tough to get him down, and normally the first guy doesn’t. He’s as talented a back as a young guy coming into the league that I’ve seen. He’s really special.”

Jeanty is also showing his coaches he can be effective in the passing game, making several catches in the flat and downfield during Thursday’s practice. Kelly said the way he’s picking up everything makes him confident Jeanty could even play some in the slot, which would allow the Raiders to get him the ball in space.

Offensive philosophy

It’s clear Kelly has big plans for Jeanty this season. That doesn’t mean he plans to simply grind down opponents with the run game.

Kelly has also been pleased with new quarterback Geno Smith, whom he once recruited as a high school prospect.

Star tight end Brock Bowers has also quickly adapted to Kelly’s offense after missing the early portion of OTAs to finish his degree at Georgia.

Yet this won’t be an air-raid, run-and-shoot offense, either.

Kelly said his goal as a coordinator is to run an efficient offense that exploits matchup edges each week and adapts to every new opponent.

“There are games you’re going to win 9-6, and there are games you’re going to have to win 38-37 and do enough on each side of the ball in phases to contribute to winning,” he said. “And how do you do that each week? Your game plan has to understand who’s available, who you’re playing against, and can we score enough points that we score one more than our opponent?

“And that’s really, hopefully, what our identity is, is that we do enough on our side to help our defense and help our special teams beat whoever we’re playing on any given Sunday.”

Or more, simply, to honor the tradition of former Raiders owner Al Davis.

“JWB. Just Win Baby,” Kelly said. “There was a legendary person in this organization (that said this), and it’s the truth.”

Contact Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AdamHillLVRJ on X.