Mike Kelly (born February 11, 1958) is an American

gridiron football Gridiron football,"Gridiron football"
''Encyclopædia Britannica''. Ret ...

coach and former player, scout, and executive. He served as the head football coach at

Valdosta State University Valdosta State University (VSU or Valdosta State) is a public university in Valdosta, Georgia. It is one of the four comprehensive universities in the University System of Georgia. , VSU had over 12,000 undergraduate and graduate students. VSU a ...

Valdosta, Georgia Valdosta is a city in and the county seat of Lowndes County, Georgia, Lowndes County, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia, United States. As of 2019, Valdosta had an estimated population of 56,457. Valdosta is the principal city of the Valdosta Metr ...

from 1997 to 1999 and

Widener University Widener University is a private university in Chester, Pennsylvania. The university has three other campuses: two in Pennsylvania (Harrisburg and Exton) and one in Wilmington, Delaware. Founded as The Bullock School for Boys in 1821, the school ...

Chester, Pennsylvania Chester is a city in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States. Located within the Philadelphia Metropolitan Area, it is the only city in Delaware County and had a population of 32,605 as of the 2020 census. Incorporated in 1682, Chester is ...

from 2014 to 2018. In 2009, Kelly was the head coach and general manager for the

Winnipeg Blue Bombers The Winnipeg Blue Bombers are a professional Canadian football team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The Blue Bombers compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West division. They play their home games at IG Fiel ...

of the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...

(CFL). He has worked as an assistant coach at the

high school football High school football (french: football au lycée) is gridiron football played by high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular interscholastic sports in both countries, but its popularity is declining, part ...

level, for several

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

teams, and for professional teams in the CFL,

XFL XFL may refer to: Sports * XFL (2001), a defunct American football league that played its only season in 2001 * XFL (2020), a professional American football league Vehicles * Bell XFL Airabonita, a 1940 U.S. Navy experimental interceptor aircra ...

, and the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL). Kelly played college football as a

quarterback The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...

at Bluffton College—now

Bluffton University Bluffton University is a private Mennonite university in Bluffton, Ohio. It is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission, with four programs that have earned programmatic accreditation: dietetics, education, music, and social work. The unive ...

—in the late 1970s.

Playing career and education

Kelly graduated from Muncie Northside High School in

Muncie, Indiana Muncie ( ) is an incorporated city and the county seat, seat of Delaware County, Indiana, Delaware County, Indiana. Previously known as Buckongahelas Town, named after the legendary Delaware Chief.http://www.delawarecountyhistory.org/history/docs ...

in 1976, where as a senior he set a school record for passes attempted and completed in a single season. In 1996, Kelly was inducted into the Delaware County, Indiana Athletic Hall of Fame. Kelly's father was a high school football coach in

Waterbury, Connecticut Waterbury is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut on the Naugatuck River, southwest of Hartford and northeast of New York City. Waterbury is the second-largest city in New Haven County, Connecticut. According to the 2020 US Census, in 20 ...

. Kelly played

for Bluffton College—now known as

—in

Bluffton, Ohio Bluffton, originally known as Shannon, is a village (United States)#Ohio, village in Allen County, Ohio, Allen and Hancock County, Ohio, Hancock counties in the U.S. state of Ohio. The population was 4,125 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 ce ...

from 1976 to 1979 and earned his bachelor's degree in health, physical education and recreation. When he graduated, Kelly ranked third in career completions (95), fourth in career attempts (242) and fifth in career passing yardage (1,028). He was just the sixth player in BC history to pass for over 1,000 yards. In 2002, Kelly was inducted into the Bluffton College Hall of Fame. Kelly earned a master's degree in education at

Edinboro University of Pennsylvania PennWest Edinboro is a campus of Pennsylvania Western University, a multi-campus public university in Pennsylvania. Located in the town of Edinboro, the campus has more than 4,600 enrolled students. History Edinboro University was founded ...

in 1983.

Coaching career

Kelly was the offensive play-caller with the

between 1992 and 1996, as part of the teams that captured three regular season division titles and appeared in the

Grey Cup The Grey Cup (french: Coupe Grey) is both the championship game of the Canadian Football League (CFL) and the trophy awarded to the victorious team playing in the namesake championship of professional Canadian football. The game is contested be ...

twice. Kelly's offence set 29 club records during his tenure in Winnipeg, including Matt Dunigan's record 713 yards passing in a game. Kelly was the head coach at

from 1997 to 1999. In his three seasons there, Kelly coached 23 players to all-conference honours and had two players earn All-American status and four more recruited players later achieving All-American status. Kelly's Valdosta State teams set 13 school records during his tenure. Kelly was fired nine games into the 1999 season and replaced by assistant Mark Nelson, who was appointed interim head coach. In 2000, Kelly added the

to his coaching resume, where he worked as the

offensive coordinator An offensive coordinator is a member of the coaching staff of an American football or Canadian football team who is in charge of the team's offense. Generally, along with the defensive coordinator and the special teams coordinator, this coach re ...

for the

Orlando Rage The Orlando Rage was an American football team based in Orlando, Florida as part of the XFL, begun by Vince McMahon of the World Wrestling Federation and by NBC, a major television network in the United States. History The team's colors were sc ...

. The Rage went a league best 8–2 during that season, winning the Eastern Division. Kelly's offence led the league in red zone scoring percentage, with quarterback

Jeff Brohm Jeffrey Scott Brohm (born April 24, 1971) is an American football coach and former quarterback, who is the current head football coach of the Louisville Cardinals. Brohm played college football at the University of Louisville for coach Howard S ...

named First-Team All-XFL. Kelly spent five years in the

(NFL) working as an advanced pro scout for the

Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) N ...

and

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team plays ...

where he also was an offensive assistant/quality control. During his time with the Eagles, while working alongside head coach

Andy Reid Andrew Walter Reid (born March 19, 1958) is an American football coach who is the head coach for the Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League (NFL). Reid was previously head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles from 1999 to 2012. From 200 ...

, the club won two

NFC East The National Football Conference – Eastern Division or NFC East is one of the four Division (sport), divisions of the National Football Conference (NFC) in the National Football League (NFL). It currently has four members: the Dallas Cowboys ...

championships, while Kelly also coached in the

2003 Pro Bowl The 2003 Pro Bowl was the NFL's all-star game for the 2002 season. The game was played on February 2, 2003, at Aloha Stadium in Honolulu, Hawaii. The final Score was AFC 45, NFC 20. Ricky Williams of the Miami Dolphins was the game's MVP. AF ...

. In 2008 Kelly was the receivers coach for the

Edmonton Eskimos The Edmonton Elks are a professional Canadian football team based in Edmonton, Alberta. The club competes in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member of the league's West Division and plays their home games at the Brick Field at Commo ...

. Quarterback

Ricky Ray Ricky Ray (born October 22, 1979) is an American former professional Canadian football quarterback. Ray spent the majority of his professional career with the Edmonton Eskimos and Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He also ...

had a personal best 5,600 yards passing while slot receivers Kamau Peterson caught over 100 passes and was named Most Outstanding Canadian Player and Kelly Campbell led the CFL averaging 23.7 yards per reception. Kelly served as the head coach of the

in 2009. Kelly also coordinated the offense for half of the season, in which the team went 7–11 missing a home playoff berth by a single game. On December 17, 2009, Kelly was arrested in

Bridgeport, Pennsylvania Bridgeport is a borough in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United States, north of Philadelphia on the Schuylkill River. Former industries included paper, flour, cotton, woolen mills, steel works, and brickyards. Bridgeport is east of Valley F ...

and charged with assault and harassment following a domestic dispute at his home. Kelly was fired from his post with Winnipeg later that day. Ken Hildahl, chairman of the Blue Bombers, indicated that Kelly's dismissal was due to the performance of the team, not the incident earlier that day. The charges were dropped after Kelly took anger management counseling. In his first season with Widener, Kelly led the Pride to its record-setting 20th

Middle Atlantic Conference The Middle Atlantic Conferences (MAC) is an umbrella organization of three athletic conferences that competes in the NCAA's Division III. The 18 member colleges are in the Mid-Atlantic United States. The organization is divided into two main con ...

(MAC) championship and appearance in quarterfinals of the

NCAA Division III Football Championship The NCAA Division III Football Championship began in 1973. The Division III playoffs begin with 32 teams selected to participate in the Division III playoffs. The Division III championship game, known as the Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl or Stagg Bowl ...

. His record 12 consecutive wins broke a school record that had stood since 1912 for wins by a first-year coach. For his efforts he was named the MAC Coach of the Year and the ECAC South Co-Coach of the Year. In 2017, Kelly was named the East Coast Football Officials Association (ECFOA) Division III Coach of the Year. He was fired after the 2018 season. In 2019 he joined

Next College Student Athlete Next College Student Athlete (NCSA) is a for-profit organization that connects middle and high school student-athletes with college coaches. NCSA teaches middle and high school student-athletes about the college recruiting process. The NCSA At ...

, a for-profit organization that connects middle and high school student-athletes with college coaches.

Teaching career

Kelly is a former professor of sports management at

Drexel University Drexel University is a private research university with its main campus in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Drexel's undergraduate school was founded in 1891 by Anthony J. Drexel, a financier and philanthropist. Founded as Drexel Institute of Art, S ...

Head coaching record

College

CFL

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kelly, Mike 1958 births Living people American football quarterbacks Bluffton Beavers football players Capital Comets football coaches Edinboro Fighting Scots football coaches Marietta Pioneers football coaches Ohio Wesleyan Battling Bishops football coaches Philadelphia Eagles coaches Philadelphia Eagles scouts San Francisco State Gators football coaches Valdosta State Blazers football coaches Washington Redskins executives Widener Pride football coaches Winnipeg Blue Bombers coaches Winnipeg Blue Bombers general managers Orlando Rage coaches High school football coaches in Ohio Edinboro University of Pennsylvania alumni Sportspeople from Muncie, Indiana Sportspeople from Waterbury, Connecticut Players of American football from Indiana