Eric Kelly enters his third season on head coach Terry Harrison’s staff and will serve as the offensive coordinator and slots receivers coach this season.
Kelly comes to Friends alongside Harrison after spending three seasons as offensive coordinator/running backs coach at Bethel College.
A big part of Bethel rising to an elite NAIA program, Kelly was a part of two KCAC regular-season co-championships while helping oversee an offense that was tops in the NAIA and all levels two years running in total rushing offense.
The 2020 season featured Kelly contributing to the Threshers’ KCAC regular-season co-championship and first playoff appearance in over a decade along with a school-record 26 postseason All-KCAC awards, highlighted by QB Zach Esau being named KCAC Player of the Year and the top-ranked passing efficiency rating in all levels.
The record-breaking offensive success led to Kelly being named a 2020 FootballScoop Coordinator of the Year Finalist.
Kelly joined Harrison at Bethel in 2018, one year after the Threshers posted a 1-9 record.
With the staff inheriting a roster of just 36 players, the Thresher backfield saw immediate improvement under Kelly’s tutelage, jumping up to eighth in the nation in total rushing offense after being ranked 79th the previous season.
Kelly was promoted to offensive coordinator following the first season and continued to produce results in an elite-level rushing and offensive system.
The 2019 season that followed proved even more fruitful, with the Threshers setting a school record for total points that had stood since 1984. The Threshers also made an appearance in the NAIA Top 25 for the first time since 2008, as the coaching staff became the quickest in program history to win 10 games. After being picked seventh in the conference, the Threshers rose all the way to second in the league.
The 2019-20 two-season improvements culminated in a jump of 11 more touchdowns (52 to 63) and a whopping 121 % increase in passing touchdowns (15 passing TD’s) and 145 % in passing yards (1,059 passing yards). The Threshers’ total offense per game output also leaped to ninth in the nation (444 ypg).
Overall, Kelly has mentored three NAIA All-America performers along with a first-team all-conference running back and a trio of second-team all-conference running back selections as a position coach.
Kelly’s recruiting success features signing Trey Palmer, an All-American and unanimous first-team All-KCAC cornerback and second-team all-league punt returner. Palmer’s athleticism also resulted in an All-American nod in track & field.
Prior to his coaching career, Kelly started two years and was a four-year letter winner at Harding University.
Kelly contributed to Harding’s first Great American Conference championship in program history along with advancing to the playoff’s quarterfinal round in 2016, the deepest run in GAC history.
Kelly graduated from Harding University with a Bachelor of Sciences in Sport and Recreation Management before earning his Masters of Business Administration in 2017.
