Kelly has 34 years of coaching experience with 30 years at the collegiate level and four as an NFL head coach. He most recently spent the 2024 season as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Ohio State after six seasons as the head coach at UCLA. He also served as the head coach of the San Francisco 49ers (2016) and Philadelphia Eagles (2013-15) following four seasons as head coach at the University of Oregon (2009-12).
In his lone season at Ohio State, Kelly helped guide the Buckeyes to a 14-2 record and a National Championship in the first year of the 12-team College Football Playoff, averaging 36.3 points per game across their four playoff victories. He directed the No. 14 scoring offense (35.7 points per game) and the No. 30 total offense (429.4 yards per game) in the nation last season.
During his time at UCLA, Kelly finished with a 35-34 overall record. His Bruins' team ranked 17th nationally in rushing in 2023 and set a school record with 503.6 total yards per game in 2022. In 2021, Kelly's offense led the Pac-12 in scoring and ranked 12th nationally (36.5), while ranking 14th in rushing (215.1). His offense in 2020 also led the Pac-12 in scoring and ranked 12th nationally in rushing at 230.6 yards per game.
Prior to returning to the college level, Kelly served as the head coach of the San Francisco 49ers in 2016. He saw the 49ers improve from the league's 21st-ranked rushing attack in 2015 (1,544 yards) to the fourth-best rushing offense in 2016 (2,019 yards) as RB Carlos Hyde rushed for 988 yards in just 13 contests (76.0 yards per game).
Over Kelly's three seasons in Philadelphia, the Eagles ranked third in the NFL in points per game (26.9), third in total offense (392.8 yards per game) and fourth in rushing yards per game (131.3). The Eagles also recorded the second-most running plays of 10-or-more yards (175) and the fourth-most passing plays of 25-or-more yards (109). In 2015, QB Sam Bradford registered a career-high 3,725 passing yards while setting single-season franchise records with 346 completions and a 65.0 completion percentage in 14 games. WR Jordan Matthews had 85 receptions which tied for the fourth-most receptions in Eagles single-season history, while leading the team with 997 yards and eight touchdowns.
In 2014, Kelly's team posted its second consecutive 10-6 record as the offense scored a team-record 474 points after setting the franchise record with 442 points a year prior. WR Jeremy Maclin posted 85 receptions for a career-high 1,318 yards and 10 touchdowns, while QB Mark Sanchez set a team record at the time with a 64.1 completion percentage. The Eagles had four players selected Second-Team AP All-Pro, and eight players named to the Pro Bowl, including RB LeSean McCoy, who finished third in the NFL with 1,319 rushing yards.
In Kelly's first year as the Eagles head coach in 2013, he guided the team to a 10-6 record and an NFC East Division title, becoming just the second head coach in league history to win a division title in his first season in the NFL. Philadelphia set an NFL record with 99 plays of 20-or-more yards, while leading the NFL in rushing yards per game (160.4) and ranking fourth in points per game (27.6). QB Nick Foles threw 27 touchdowns and just two interceptions with a passer rating of 119.2, the fifth-highest quarterback rating in NFL history. McCoy set single-season franchise records and led the NFL in rushing yards (1,607) and yards from scrimmage (2,146), while WR DeSean Jackson recorded career highs with 82 receptions for 1,332 yards and nine touchdowns. Five Eagles, including McCoy and Jackson, were selected to the Pro Bowl while three players earned First-Team AP All-Pro honors in McCoy, G Evan Mathis and T Jason Peters.
As head coach at Oregon (2009-12), Kelly's teams produced a 46-7 (.868) overall record and victories in the Rose Bowl and Fiesta Bowl. In four seasons, the Ducks scored 44.7 points per game while leading the nation in big plays, including 220 pass plays of 25-or-more yards and 110 rushes of 25-or-more yards. Kelly became the first coach in school history to guide the program to three consecutive undisputed conference championships (2009-11) and led the Ducks to their first three 12-win seasons (2010-12). Under his direction, Oregon made an appearance in a BCS Bowl game in each of his four seasons, including a trip to the National Championship game in 2010. Kelly was named the Pac-10 Coach of the Year in back-to-back seasons in 2009 and 2010, and Associated Press Coach of the Year in 2010.
In 2012, Kelly's Ducks posted a 12-1 record, including their third consecutive conference championship and a Fiesta Bowl victory. Oregon ranked second in the nation in scoring (49.6 points per game) and fifth in total offense (537.4 yards per game). Freshman QB Marcus Mariota threw 32 touchdowns while RB Kenjon Barner finished sixth in the nation with 1,767 rushing yards. Kelly led Oregon to a 12-2 record in 2011, their second straight conference championship and a win in the Rose Bowl. The team finished third in the country in points per game (46.1) and fourth in FBS in total offense (522.8 yards per game). The 2010 Ducks finished with a 12-1 record and earned a trip to the BCS Championship game while averaging the most points (47.0 points per game) and total yards (530.7 yards per game) in the FBS. In becoming the Pac-10's first unbeaten regular season champion in five years, Kelly was named AP Coach of the Year, Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year, Walter Camp Coach of the Year and Pac-10 Coach of the Year.
In 2009, Kelly was promoted to head coach at the University of Oregon following two seasons as the team's offensive coordinator. In his first season as head coach, he led the Ducks to a 10-3 record and a trip to the Rose Bowl, while the offense finished sixth in the country in points per game (36.1) and rushing yards per game (231.7).
Kelly spent the previous 13 years at his alma mater, the University of New Hampshire. As offensive coordinator at UNH, he helped QB Ricky Santos earn the Walter Payton Award as the most outstanding player in FCS in 2006. Kelly also coached the Wildcats' offensive line (1997, 1998) and running backs (1992, 1994-96). The New Hampshire offense averaged better than 400 yards of total offense per game in seven of his eight seasons.
A native of Dover, NH, Kelly played quarterback and safety at the University of New Hampshire from 1981-84. Following his playing career, Kelly was an assistant at Columbia University for two seasons (1990-91), coaching on the defensive side of the ball and special teams. In 1992, he returned to New Hampshire to become the running backs coach before spending the 1993 season as the defensive coordinator at Johns Hopkins University.
