MIKE KELLY - Football Coach 1981-2007
Kelly stepped down after 27 years as UD's head coach on January 22, 2008. A six-time PFL Coach of the Year, and seven-time National Coach of the year, Kelly's numbers speak for themselves. Some coaches did it longer than him. A few did it better. Virtually none did both.
"We have a saying in our football program -- 'Right Place, Right Time,'" Kelly said. "When I look back at all this, it's all been 'Right Place, Right Time.' My dad worked at NCR, right next to Cloyd Carter, whose son Rick hired me for my first college coaching job. 'Right Place, Right Time.' When he was hired to be UD's head coach, he brought me to UD to be on his staff. 'Right Place, Right Time.' And when Rick took the job at Holy Cross, Mr. (Tom) Frericks took a chance on a young guy who hadn't been a college coach that long to be the next coach of the Flyers. 'Right Place, Right Time.'"
His career winning percentage of .819 is the fourth-best-all-time (25 years or more experience). Florida A&M's legendary Jake Gaither is No. 1 (.844), Nebraska's Tom Osborne is second (.836) and Michigan's Fielding Yost (.828) is third. After 26 seasons as UD's head coach. Only two active coaches at the Division I level -- Florida State's Bobby Bowden (366 wins) and Penn State's Joe Paterno (363) -- had more wins than Kelly heading into the 2007 season.
"It's been a team effort all the way," Kelly added. "There's no place in college football like Dayton. Dave Whilding came on the staff the same year as me. Rick Chamberlin was already here, playing linebacker for us. We've even had our secretary, Sandy Bales, all this time. That continuity is so important to our success."
As a competitor, the wins were of course important to Kelly, but as a teacher, just as important if not more were the young men, probably close to a thousand, who have gone on from being Flyer football players to becoming doctors, architects, business professionals, leaders in their communities, and yes, teachers and coaches.
As the 150th member of the UD Athletic Hall of Fame, Mike Kelly joins his successor and protege Rick Chamberlin, in Flyer athletics' most exclusive club.
