Anthony "Champ" Kelly (born 1980) is an
American football executive who is the assistant
general manager for the
Las Vegas Raiders of the
National Football League (NFL). He previously served as the assistant director of player personnel for the
Chicago Bears
The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) North division. The Bears have won nine NF ...
from 2017 to 2021 and the director of pro scouting from 2015 to 2016. Before joining the Bears in 2015, Kelly was a member of the
Denver Broncos staff and was with the
Lexington Horsemen of the
United Indoor Football (UIF) as general manager, coach, and player.
Playing career
Kelly played college football at
Kentucky as a wide receiver and defensive back from 1998 to 2001. He played for the Lexington Horsemen (now known as
Kentucky Horsemen) from 2003 to 2006, winning
Indoor Bowl The Indoor Bowl was the main championship game of the National Indoor Football League (NIFL). In 2001, it was played between the top two teams who survived the eight-team playoff format. Since 2002, it has been played between the Atlantic Conference ...
IV in 2004.
Executive career
Lexington Horsemen
After retiring as a player, Kelly stayed with the Horsemen as coach and general manager in 2007.
Denver Broncos
Kelly joined the Broncos in 2007 as the Northeast college scout before being appointed assistant director of pro personnel.
Chicago Bears
Kelly joined the Chicago Bears in 2015 as the team's director of pro scouting. He was promoted to assistant director of player personnel in 2017. His main responsibilities were grading the top 100 draft prospects, leading the team's efforts in free agency, and advance scouting. In 2019, Kelly was a candidate in the
New York Jets
The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The J ...
' general manager search, in November 2020 he was candidate for the
Atlanta Falcons
The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. The Falcons joined th ...
job and in January 2021 he was interviewed for the
Denver Broncos GM position.
Las Vegas Raiders
On February 2, 2022, Kelly was named the assistant general manager of the
Las Vegas Raiders. On November 1, 2023, Kelly was named the Raiders' interim general manager after the firing of general manager
Dave Ziegler, keeping the title until
Tom Telesco was hired to replace Ziegler on January 23, 2024.
Personal life
Kelly and his wife Stephanie have three daughters. He was born in
Campbellton, Florida. He founded Heart Power, a nonprofit which has hosted youth programs in several states. Kelly graduated from Kentucky with a master's in business administration and a bachelor's in computer science. He worked for
IBM as a software and quality engineer from 2002 to 2005.
References
External links
Las Vegas Raiders bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kelly, Champ
1980 births
Living people
American football defensive backs
American football wide receivers
Chicago Bears executives
Denver Broncos executives
Denver Broncos scouts
Kentucky Wildcats football players
Las Vegas Raiders executives
Lexington Horsemen players
National Football League general managers
People from Jackson County, Florida
Players of American football from Florida