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

gridiron football Gridiron football ( ),"Gridiron football"
''Encyclopædia Britannica'' ...

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, United States. Founded in 1906, it launched in 1913 as an all-girls college. VSU is one of the four comprehensive universities in the University System ...

Valdosta, Georgia Valdosta is a city in and the county seat of Lowndes County, Georgia, Lowndes County in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. As the principal city of the Valdosta Metropolitan Statistical Area, Valdosta metropolitan statistical area, ...

from 1997 to 1999 and

Widener University Widener University is a private university in Chester, Pennsylvania, United States. Established in 1821, the university was known as the Pennsylvania Military College until 1972. Widener enrolls approximately 3,500 undergraduate students across s ...

Chester, Pennsylvania Chester is a city in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is located in the Philadelphia metropolitan area (also known as the Delaware Valley) on the western bank of the Delaware River between Philadelphia and Wilmington, Delaware. ...

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 (CFL), West division. They play thei ...

of the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; , LCF) is a Professional gridiron football, professional Canadian football league in Canada. It comprises nine teams divided into two divisions, with four teams in the East Division (CFL), East Division and f ...

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

high school football High school football, also known as prep football, is gridiron football played by High school (North America), high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular high school sports, interscholastic sports in both c ...

level, for several

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

teams, and for professional teams in the CFL, XFL, and the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). Kelly played college football as a

quarterback The quarterback (QB) is a position in gridiron football who are members of the offensive side of the ball and mostly line up directly behind the Lineman (football), offensive line. In modern American football, the quarterback is usually consider ...

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 three programs that have earned programmatic accreditation: education, nursing and social work. The university ha ...

—in the late 1970s.

Playing career and education

Kelly graduated from Muncie Northside High School in

Muncie, Indiana Muncie ( ) is a city in Delaware County, Indiana, United States, and its county seat. It is located in East Central Indiana about northeast of Indianapolis. At the 2020 census, the city's population was 65,195, down from 70,085 in the 2010 c ...

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. Waterbury had a population of 114,403 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 Census. The city is southwest of Hartford, Connecticut, Hartford and northeast of New York City. Waterbury i ...

. Kelly played

for Bluffton College—now known as

—in

Bluffton, Ohio Bluffton, originally known as Shannon, is a village in Allen and Hancock counties in the U.S. state of Ohio. The population was 3,967 at the 2020 census. Bluffton is home to Bluffton University, a four-year educational institution affiliated ...

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 Pennsylvania Western University, Edinboro (abbreviated as PennWest Edinboro) is a campus of Pennsylvania Western University in Edinboro, Pennsylvania. The campus had an enrollment of 2,259 as of fall 2024. History PennWest Edinboro was foun ...

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 () 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 between the winners ...

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 XFL to his coaching resume, where he worked as the

offensive coordinator An offensive coordinator (OC) is a Coach (sport), coach responsible for a gridiron football team's offense (American football), offense. Generally, the offensive coordinator, defensive coordinator and special teams coordinator represent the second ...

for the

Orlando Rage The Orlando Rage was an American football team based in Orlando, Florida as part of the XFL (2001), XFL, begun by Vince McMahon of the World Wrestling Entertainment, World Wrestling Federation and by NBC, a major television network in the Unite ...

. 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 college football coach and former professional quarterback. He is the head football coach at his alma mater, the University of Louisville, a position he has held since the 2023 season. Bro ...

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 of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East ...

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 of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The team plays its ...

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 professional American football, football coach who is the head coach for the Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League (NFL). Reid was previously the head coach of the Philadelphi ...

, 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 has four members: the Dallas Cowboys, New Yo ...

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. ...

. 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 Commonwealth Stadium. The E ...

. Quarterback

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

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 ...

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 intercollegiate athletic conferences that competes in the NCAA's Division III. The 16 member colleges are in the Mid-Atlantic United States. The organization is divided ...

(MAC) championship and appearance in quarterfinals of the NCAA Division III Football Championship. 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, Kelly joined

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

, a for-profit organization that connects middle and high school student-athletes with college coaches. In 2024, he was selected as the head coach of the United States national football team competing in the

International Federation of American Football The International Federation of American Football (IFAF) is the international governing body of American football associations. The IFAF oversees the organisation and promotion of all international competitions across both contact and non conta ...

's U20 World Junior Championships held in

Edmonton Edmonton is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta. It is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Central Alberta ...

Teaching career

Kelly is a former professor of sports management at

Drexel University Drexel University is a private university, private research university with its main campus in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Drexel's undergraduate school was founded in 1891 by Anthony Joseph Drexel, Anthony J. Drexel, a financier ...

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 Pennsylvania Western University, Edinboro alumni Sportspeople from Muncie, Indiana Players of American football from Waterbury, Connecticut Players of American football from Indiana Coaches of American football from Connecticut Coaches of American football from Indiana