Kevin Kelley, the football coach who never punts, formally introduced as new coach at Sheridan (Arkansas)
Twelve years ago, it was Kevin Kelley who was luring Rick Treadway away from Sheridan. Now, it is Treadway’s turn to lead Kelley to Sheridan.
More than a decade ago, Kelley hired Treadway to be the girls basketball coach at Pulaski Academy in Little Rock while he was the school’s athletic director and ultra-successful football coach. Treadway had been a successful coach in the town of 4,000 south of Little Rock but had taken his teacher’s retirement with the State of Arkansas and was looking to continue his career at the private school.
Now, after three years away from PA, Kelley, a Hall of Famer, is re-starting his prep coaching career with urging from his good friend Treadway at a program that has been over .500 just twice since 2000. Kelley is the third Sheridan coach in the past three years.
The school formally introduced Kelley, who has been working in private business since coaching one season at Presbyterian College, during a home varsity basketball doubleheader Tuesday night. Adam DePriest, a former PA assistant under Kelley, was also in attendance and will serve as Kelley’s assistant head coach and will help on offense and coordinate the special teams.
“Some people would ask why I would take over this program,” Kelley told a small group of media gathered after the introduction. “You get different people with different viewpoints. I like the challenge of building things, and I want to be a part of something, and this was an opportunity for me to come to a place where they aren’t sure if they can find a way to win, and I like that challenge. I like that opportunity.”
Kelley did a lot of winning at PA. Along with the nine state championships, Kelley’s Bruins appeared in the state final 12 times, along with 18 trips to the quarterfinals and 15 to the semifinals while compiling an overall record of 216-29-1. Among his long list of accolades, Kelley was awarded the USA Today National Football Coach of the Year in 2016 and was inducted to the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame in 2021.
“What I am hoping is everyone gives the new coach a chance with an open mind,” Kelley said. “I know there have been a few the last few years, but we want to play a new brand of football and see if that helps motivate the guys to think a little differently on the field and think a little differently off the field.
“We have a great staff here and some great kids, and I have Adam DePriest, one of the best men in the world coming with me, and I think that gives us an advantage. I think we have a chance to do things here that many don’t think are possible.”
Kelley, who hadn’t officially signed his contract as of Tuesday night, will meet with his new players before the winter break, but there is already an electricity surrounding Kelley.
“I am excited about [the hire] and eager to see what he can do,” said sophomore wide receiver Gunner Hoyle as he prepared to play in the varsity boys basketball game Tuesday night. “We have been through a lot of changes. Someone coming and staying would be really helpful.”
Part of Kelley’s success at PA with his unorthodox style and high-octane offense was that even the grade-school teams were running his scheme. He said for the Yellowjackets to be effective, they will need to take the same approach.
“I think to truly build a program, you have to start from the lowest level of football up,” he said. “That is crucial because they need to understand what the process is, and they need to understand what you’re wanting on the field. What the purpose of this play is and what the purpose of the defense is. You do that by doing the same things from the fifth grade all the way up. If you do those things, you might lose a fifth-grade game or lose a seventh-grade game, but the ultimate goal is to win a state championship. I know that is crazy to say right now, but my goal everywhere I have been is to win a state championship.”
Kelley went on to say that a program has a much better chance of winning state championships if the entire program starts working together early and building toward that moment in high school.
“[Kelley] sounds like he wants to win, and he wants to win big,” Hoyle said. “We are ready. We’ve just been going down and down and down. We are waiting for that next opportunity to spring up and beat everybody.”
But before Sheridan players can think about winning titles, they will have to take a crash course on Kelley’s strategy, which includes onside kicks and never punting. Not to mention a very sophisticated offense. Kelley said it is on he and DePriest and the rest of the staff, many of whom are holdovers, to “be really good teachers.”
“The way we play [at Sheridan] is the way we played at PA when I left,” Kelley said, “Nothing will change with that. I think that is the right way to play the game that gives you the advantage because only one team is going to be the biggest and strongest.”
Sophomore quarterback Ty Franck knows he and junior Brady Dillon, this year’s starter, will have their work cut out for them learning Kelley’s playbook.
“We are just going to have to compete for a spot,” Franck said. “It might be tough at first, but it won’t take me too long to learn it. I feel like I learn pretty fast.”
Kelley, who said he is charge of the quarterback and kicker “because they are the most important positions,” will find an onside kicker at Sheridan just like he always did at PA.
“We let everyone try it and see who can do it the best,” he said. “There is a certain place you have to be able to hit the ball. Sometimes is is an offensive lineman. Sometimes it is a quarterback. Sometimes it is a soccer player.”
The unorthodox play excites the players, but more important, they are looking forward to winning, which hasn’t happened much in the history of the program.
“I was not expecting a hire like this,” Franck said. “It is a great move [by the administration], and I am really excited about it. Everybody’s excited, and we are just ready to get to work and come out and see what [Kelley’s] got.”
--Nate Olson I @ndosports I @nate@scorebooklive.com
