Kelly graduated from Muncie Northside High School in Muncie, Indiana 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. Kelly played quarterback for Bluffton College—now known as Bluffton University—in Bluffton, Ohio 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, fourth in career attempts and fifth in career passing yardage. 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 in 1983.
Coaching career
Kelly was the offensive play-caller with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers between 1992 and 1996, as part of the teams that captured three regular season division titles and appeared in the Grey Cup 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 Valdosta State University 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 for the Orlando Rage. 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 named First-Team All-XFL. Kelly spent five years in the National Football League working as an advanced pro scout for the Washington Redskins and Philadelphia Eagles where he also was an offensive assistant/quality control. During his time with the Eagles, while working alongside head coach Andy Reid, the club won two NFC East championships, while Kelly also coached in the 2003 Pro Bowl. In 2008 Kelly was the receivers coach for the Edmonton Eskimos. Quarterback Ricky Ray 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 Winnipeg Blue Bombers in 2009. The team saw five players leave the team to sign with the National Football League in the option year of their Canadian Football League contract while four other import players were invited to private try-outs with NFL clubs. 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 and charged with assault and harassment following an 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 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. He was fired after the 2018 season. In 2019 he joined Next College Student Athlete, a for-profit organization that connects middle and high school student-athletes with college coaches.
