Kevin Kelley out as Presbyterian College’s football coach after one season
The coach who never punts is out at Presbyterian College.
Kevin Kelley — who brought his analytics-driven offense to Clinton, South Carolina this past spring — announced on Saturday he’s leaving Presbyterian after just one season to pursue other football opportunities.
“I am so appreciative of Presbyterian College President Matthew vandenBerg and AD Rob Acunto for the opportunity that I had and for all the support I was given,” Kelley wrote in a statement on Twitter. “I am so thankful to the coaches, players, staff and my family as well.”
Kelley guided the Blue Hose to a 2-9 record after a standout career as the head coach at Pulaski Academy in Little Rock, Arkansas.
Presbyterian finished the year ranked No. 1 in the country in passing and No. 3 in total offense at the FCS level this fall.
“Change can be difficult, but it can also present important opportunities for growth and continued improvement,” vandenBerg said in a statement. “Our PC community is resolutely and passionately committed to the success of our student athletes and our football program. We will invest the time, energy and resources required to continue to build on our championship culture. We believe our best days as a football program and a college are ahead of us.”
Presbyterian hired Kelley after firing Tommy Spangler after his second stint as the head coach of the Blue Hose. Spangler was just 12-29 in his second run in Clinton.
Kelley came to Presbyterian having won nine Arkansas high school state championships over 18 years at Pulaski Academy. He finished his time at the Little Rock private school with a 219-29-1 record while navigating his program to 12 of the highest yardage outputs in Arkansas state history.
The former high school legend-turned-FCS coach garnered national headlines for his offensive system that rarely, if ever, punts and puts up video game-like scoring and statistical numbers.
Bringing his high-flying system to Presbyterian this fall, Kelley guided to the Blue Hose to efforts of at least 40 points in four of their 11 games this season. Presbyterian won its first two games by a combined score of 152-46 before dropping its final nine contests.
“He’s highly intelligent,” Kelley’s former defensive coordinator at Pulaski Academy, Madison Taylor, told The State in May. “But at the same time he’s like a mad scientist. You come away from that, you live across the sideline and you’re like, ‘Wow. He’s so far ahead of his time.’ ”
The Blue Hose recently made the transition to non-scholarship football, making recruiting increasingly difficult for a school that costs cost north of $52,000 per year for residential students, according to its website.
Kelley had planned to embrace those challenges as he built a program with a formidable offense in Clinton — now he won’t get to see that through.
“The thing about high school (coaches) is you don’t get to go out and recruit for your spot,” Kelley told The State in May. “You’ve got a coach which you’ve got to manipulate your system a little bit around those guys. I think that makes you a good football coach. And since I’ve already got that experience, I’m hoping I get to bring that here.”
Presbyterian will now be on the hunt for its 16th football coach in school history following Kelley’s departure. A release from the school said it will begin a nationwide search immediately. Presbyterian is planning to use a search firm to aid in the process.
“Although disappointed that he is leaving PC, we respect his decision to step down and wish him nothing but the best moving forward,” Acunto said in a news release.
This story was originally published December 4, 2021 at 1:24 PM.
