A three-year performer at quarterback for Bluffton, Mike Kelly ’80 served as a during head coach Carlin Carpenter’s first season in 1979.
While at Bluffton, Kelly steadily climbed up the list of top career passers. When he graduated in 1980, 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 Bluffton history to pass for over 1,000 yards and today ranks 12th on the career passing list.
Now in his second season with the Philadelphia Eagles, Kelly already has an impressive coaching resume. He is currently the only coach in the National Football League to have served in three professional leagues and before that spent 13 seasons in the college ranks.
After graduating from Bluffton with a degree in health, physical education and recreation, Kelly held coaching stints at Edinboro, Marietta, Ohio Wesleyan, Capital and San Francisco State before moving to the professional ranks as offensive coordinator of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the Canadian Football League from 1992-96. He returned to the college level as head coach at Valdosta State from 1997-99 before returning to the CFL in 2000 with Edmonton.
In 2001 he was the offensive coordinator of the Orlando Rage of the XFL, then joined the ranks of the National Football League as a pro scout with the Philadelphia Eagles. In 2002 Kelly began as an offensive assistant coach and quality control coach.
A native of Muncie, Ind., Kelly was inducted into the Delaware County (Ind.) Athletic Hall of Fame in 1986. He has been published many times in football coaching magazines and has a tremendous history with charity organizations, including the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation.
