Mike Kelly is entering his fifth season as Widener’s head football coach. He brings more than 30 years of coaching experience to the university.
The 2017 season saw several milestones for the Pride. Most notably was the 700th win in program history, a feat accomplished by only three other Division III schools and by 35 total in all divisions of NCAA athletics. Widener also returned to the postseason for the first time since 2014 as the Blue and Gold competed in the Centennial-MAC Bowl Series.
Nine players achieved All-Conference honors for WU in 2017, including five First Team honorees, highlighted by the MAC Defensive Player of the Year in Jordan Powell. Powell and Casey Kerschner were named AFCA All-Americans, the first time in school history that Widener has had two players recognized by the AFCA in the same season.
2016 saw Kelly mentor his third straight winning season for Widener as the Pride finished 6-4 and had 12 All-Conference performers. Kelly piloted WU to another winning campaign in 2015 while mentoring and producing many of the conference’s best players who excelled both on the field and in the classroom. This included a league-record six student-athletes who were named to the Academic All-Middle Atlantic Conference Team, four who earned Philadelphia Inquirer Academic All-Area honors and two who were named to the CoSIDA Academic All-District First Team.
The 2014 season was one for the recordbooks, as Kelly became the first coach in program history to finish his first regular season undefeated (10-0). The previous unbeaten run was held by Dutch Sommer, who went 5-0-2 in 1913. Kelly improved the unbeaten mark by extending his winning streak to 12 straight games by earning two NCAA postseason victories before eventually falling in the “Elite Eight” to end the season with a 12-1 ledger. For his efforts, Kelly was named the Middle Atlantic Conference Coach of the Year as well as the ECAC Division III South Co-Coach of the Year.
During the 1980s, Kelly built up a reputation as a successful recruiter and innovative offensive mind. By rebuilding multiple programs and appearing in the NCAA playoffs, he was able to become the associate head football coach at San Francisco State in 1990. He was then appointed as the offensive play caller with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in the CFL and coached with the organization from 1992-96. Kelly’s offense set 29 club records, which included 713 passing yards in a single game which was established by Matt Dunigan. He also helped the team make two Grey Cup appearances and win three regular season division titles.
After a successful run with the Blue Bombers, Kelly was hired as the head football coach at Valdosta State and served in this position for three seasons with the Division II powerhouse from 1997-99. While at Valdosta State, his skill of player development continued to reveal itself in the form of 23 players achieving all-conference status and two players earning All-America laurels. His teams also set 13 school records during his tenure.
Following three seasons at Valdosta State, Kelly served a single season as the offensive coordinator and QB - s coach for the XFL’s Orlando Rage under head coach Galen Hall. The Rage went a league-best 8-2 during that season and won its division. Kelly’s offense led the league in red zone scoring percentage and QB - Jeff Brohm, who is now the
head coach at Purdue, was named to the All-XFL First Team.
Kelly then spent five years in the National Football League working in pro personnel for the Philadelphia Eagles, where he was also an offensive assistant/quality control coach, and the Washington Redskins. He advanced games for both Steve Spurrier and Joe Gibbs with the Redskins and worked alongside Andy Reid in Philadelphia to help the Eagles win two NFC East championships. In addition, Kelly coached in the 2003 Pro Bowl.
From 2006-07, Kelly was drawn back to the academic world in which he served as a professor of sport management at Drexel University. In this position, he served as an instructor for both undergraduate and graduate students in coaching and leadership. After his first year of teaching, he was recognized by Drexel with the “Make a Difference Award” for outstanding mentoring and teaching.
Kelly returned to the football sidelines as the receivers coach for the CFL’s Edmonton Eskimos. He most notably mentored slot receiver Kamau Peterson, who was named the Most Outstanding Canadian Player after pulling in more than 100 receptions.
In 2009, Kelly returned to the CFL’s Winnipeg Blue Bombers as the head football coach. He managed the entire football operation in this role, including the $8.2 million budget, and saw five of his players sign as free agents with the NFL.
Kelly’s time in the CFL was followed by three years as the owner of ScoreMore Enterprises, where he was primarily a consultant to coaches for implementing coaching staff structure and his version of the spread offense. He also spent two years as the Vice President of Football Operations for ProSource Sports Management, signing three players in the first 95 selections and a free agent with the Carolina Panthers before returning again to coaching as the head coach of Widener University’s storied program.
Kelly played collegiately at Division III Bluffton University, where he was a three-year letterwinner and QB - who ranks third in the program annals for career completions and fifth in career passing yardage. He received a bachelor’s degree in health, physical education and recreation from Bluffton in 1980 and a master’s degree in secondary school administration from Edinboro in 1983. Kelly is also a member of the Bluffton Athletics Hall of Fame and the Delaware County (Ind.) Athletics Hall of Fame.
