After coaching Pulaski Academy to nine State Championships and compiling over 200 wins in 18 years, Kevin Kelley took over as head coach of the Presbyterian College football team in May of 2021. Kelley is the 16th head coach in PC football's 108-year history and third since the school's move to NCAA Division I in 2007. He is in his first season.
Kelley comes to PC after spending the last 18 seasons as head coach of Pulaski Academy in Little Rock, Ark., and as offensive coordinator for the Bruins six years prior to being named to the top spot.
As head coach at Pulaski, Kelley took a team with only two trips to the semifinals in school history, and not beyond, to one with 18 quarterfinal, 15 semifinal, and 12 championship appearances. The team has taken home nine state championships, the last one this past December, its second in a row, to cap a perfect 13-0 season.
Under his tutelage, Kelley's players and teams have broken 15 national high school football records, with the Bruins compiling a 216-29-1 mark in 18 seasons. In 2015 Kelley was featured on ESPN after his team snapped Dallas Highland Park's winning streak of 84 games, the longest in the nation at the time.
The 2016 USA Today National Football Coach of the Year is also a motivational speaker, traveling across the country speaking at several billion-dollar companies, including adidas, Ticketmaster, Halliburton, and Team SI. He has also served twice as a panelist at the MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference and was named Tribecca Film Festival Disruptive Innovator of the Year in 2014.
Kelley approaches the game of football in a different way, as documented by many media outlets such as ESPN, HBO Real Sports, and Fox Business News, along with having a unique ability on the offensive side of the ball.
NFL Head Coach Bill Belichick is one of those coaches that has reached out to the new PC head coach and has called Kelley 'probably the top high school coach in the country.'
His philosophy and tactics have been featured in articles in several publications such as the New York Times and Sports Illustrated, as well as in the book "Sportscasting."
Kelley graduated from Henderson State University in Arkadelphia, Ark., in 1992, and is married to Dana, they have a son Zack (24), who played football at Ouachita Baptist, and a daughter, Kara (17).
Kevin Kelley Coaching Career
2003-2019 - Head Coach – Pulaski Academy
1997-2002 - Assistant Coach – Pulaski Academy
1993-1997 – Head 7th Grade Coach/Senior High Scout – Carrollton ISD (Texas)
What They’re saying about Coach Kevin Kelley:
UCF Head Coach Gus Malzahn:
“I’m extremely happy for my friend Kevin Kelley. I’m also very proud of him. He will do a wonderful job at the college level and this is a home-run hire for Presbyterian College. Kevin and PC are a perfect match and I look forward to seeing Kevin light it up in the college football world.”
