Anthony "Champ" Kelly (born 1980) is an American football executive who is the assistant general manager for the Las Vegas Raiders of the National Football League (NFL). He previously served as the assistant director of player personnel for the Chicago Bears from 2017 to 2021 and the director of pro scouting from 2015 to 2016. Before joining the Bears in 2015, Kelly was a member of the Denver Broncos staff and was with the Lexington Horsemen of the United Indoor Football (UIF) as general manager, coach, and player.
| Las Vegas Raiders | |||
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| Position: | Assistant general manager | ||
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| Born: | 1980 (age 43–44) Campbellton, Florida, U.S. | ||
| Career information | |||
| College: | Kentucky | ||
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Playing career
editKelly played college football at Kentucky as a wide receiver and defensive back from 1998 to 2001.[1] He played for the Lexington Horsemen (now known as Kentucky Horsemen) from 2003 to 2006, winning Indoor Bowl IV in 2004.[2]
Executive career
editLexington Horsemen
editAfter retiring as a player, Kelly stayed with the Horsemen as coach and general manager in 2007.[2]
Denver Broncos
editKelly joined the Broncos in 2007 as the Northeast college scout before being appointed assistant director of pro personnel.[3]
Chicago Bears
editKelly joined the Chicago Bears in 2015 as the team's director of pro scouting.[4] He was promoted to assistant director of player personnel in 2017.[5] His main responsibilities were grading the top 100 draft prospects, leading the team's efforts in free agency, and advance scouting.[6] In 2019, Kelly was a candidate in the New York Jets' general manager search,[7] in November 2020 he was candidate for the Atlanta Falcons job[8] and in January 2021 he was interviewed for the Denver Broncos GM position.[9]
Las Vegas Raiders
editOn February 2, 2022, Kelly was named the assistant general manager of the Las Vegas Raiders.[10] On November 1, 2023, Kelly was named the Raiders' interim general manager after the firing of general manager Dave Ziegler,[11] keeping the title until Tom Telesco was hired to replace Ziegler on January 23, 2024.
Personal life
editKelly and his wife Stephanie have three daughters. He was born in Campbellton, Florida. He founded Heart Power, a nonprofit which has hosted youth programs in several states.[12][13] Kelly graduated from Kentucky with a master's in business administration and a bachelor's in computer science. He worked for IBM as a software and quality engineer from 2002 to 2005.[14]
References
edit- ^ "Anthony Kelly, UK Bio". www.ukathletics.com. August 10, 2017. Retrieved February 6, 2020.
- ^ a b "The Ride and Fall of the Horsemen: Rowdiest rivals tested title team's mettle". www.kentucky.com. Retrieved November 15, 2020.
- ^ Heath, Jon (March 21, 2018). "Broncos got lucky with 2014 free agency signings". Broncos Wire. USA Today. Retrieved July 22, 2024.
- ^ Wiltfong Jr., Lester A. (May 15, 2015). "The Chicago Bears announce three personnel moves". Windy City Gridiron. Retrieved July 22, 2024.
- ^ Finley, Patrick (July 30, 2017). "Bears make front-office promotions". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved July 22, 2024.
- ^ "Through football and family, Bears executive Champ Kelly has found his calling". www.theathletic.com. Retrieved September 14, 2020.
- ^ "Jets Complete Interview with Champ Kelly for GM Position". www.newyorkjets.com. Retrieved June 3, 2019.
- ^ McFadden, Will (November 25, 2020). "Falcons GM search: Five things to know about Champ Kelly". AtlantaFalcons.com. Retrieved July 22, 2024.
- ^ DiLalla, Aric (January 8, 2021). "Broncos interview Chicago's Champ Kelly for GM opening". DenverBroncos.com. Retrieved July 22, 2024.
- ^ "Raiders name Champ Kelly as Assistant General Manager". Las Vegas Raiders. Retrieved February 3, 2022.
- ^ "Raiders name Champ Kelly as Interim General Manager". Raiders.com. November 1, 2023. Retrieved November 1, 2023.
- ^ "C.H.A.M.P. Camps". www.profootballweekly.com. Retrieved February 6, 2020.
- ^ "Champ Kelly Scouts the Right Path". www.profootballweekly.com. Retrieved February 11, 2020.
- ^ "Champ Kelly: Assistant Director of Player Personnel". www.chicagobears.com. Retrieved February 6, 2020.