ONE OF A KIND: MIKE KELLY
By: Stephen Lylyk, RP Show Intern
Career football man and former CFL coach Mike Kelly is a man who’s witnessed the evolution of the sport through his many experiences on the sideline, in NFL front offices and as a fan. Now making his home in Stuart, FL, Kelly discussed his perspective on Monday’s Rod Pedersen Show from The Beach House in Pompano Beach, FL.
Kelly is most known for his tenures as both a Coordinator, and later a coach of the CFL’s Winnipeg Blue Bombers. It was the latter where he was given negative criticism by the press.
“The media from Canada vilified you!” laughed host Rod Pedersen. “I’m watching from Saskatchewan thinking ‘WHAT A JERK THIS GUY IS’, and then I met you and realized you’re a really great guy!”
Despite the criticism, Kelly remembers his time in Winnipeg fondly.
As he stated in a 2019 interview with the Winnipeg sun, “I am proud for every single moment I wore the Blue and Gold.”
Kelly noted how the game has evolved throughout his many years in the business.
“It’s a different game than what we see now,” says Kelly. “All this dink and dunk stuff, when we threw the ball it was to mean something.”
In the 90s Kelly was the Coordinator of the infamous Matt Dunigan Bomber offense. On July 13, 1993 Dunigan threw for a record 713 passing yards; a record which stands today.
Kelly is critical of the “New CFL” he’s witnessing these days.
“The CFL is ‘bastardized nickel football,’” says Kelly. “I don’t see alot of the philosophies I was taught. I see very little limited blocking schemes and no diversity.
“It’s just a different game. I just look at it differently cause my lens is different.”
Kelly learned from multiple legendary figures such as his mentor, CFL Hall of Fame Coach Cal Murphy
Kelly spoke highly of Coach Cal.
“He was very similar to my dad,” Kelly explains. “He took the time for me to sit in his office and discuss things like how to run a club budget-wise. I used that for doing scholarships with my next job. I learned everything from him really.”
Kelly’s football experience has given him a nuanced outlook of the sport on many topics such as the recent controversy surrounding head trauma.
“Everyone plays through something.” Said Kelly. “I played in games where everything was green. My college roommate would used to say ‘If the opponent’s head isn’t ringing I didn’t hit him hard enough.”
It was through events as a coach where his perspective on head trauma would evolve.
“Matt Dunigan,” Kelly recalled, “when he got his last concussion, I called him. After the conversation, I hung up and cried. He was struggling to put sentences together.”
These days Kelly works for NCSA Recruiting as something of a “broker”, matching high school players with NCAA colleges.
Years after his coaching career, Kelly cherishes the times he had.
“I love every opportunity that I’ve ever had, Both the good and the Bad.”
(The Rod Pedersen Show airs daily on Game+ TV across Canada and the USA, and on WQEE Radio Metro Atlanta. Call your cable provider to subscribe. You can also watch on YouTube Live or listen 24/7 at RodPedersen.com/ListenLive)
