Get to Know New Titans’ Offensive Coordinator Tim Kelly

The Tennessee Titans promoted Tim Kelly to offensive coordinator for the 2023 season. Kelly has had a long football journey to reach this point. Here's the story on his journey from college defensive line to being an NFL offensive coordinator.

NASHVILLE — The Tennessee Titans will have a new offensive coordinator in 2023. Tim Kelly has been promoted after serving as passing game coordinator for the team in 2022. 

While last season was Kelly’s first with the Titans, it was far from his first role in coaching. Kelly has taken many steps, filled many roles and worked for multiple teams on his way to Nashville, so this is a good time to get to know him better.

Kelly was a college player himself, as most coaches were at some point. He played at Eastern Illinois, where he made 48 career starts as a defensive lineman. He served as team captain in 2007 and even was awarded academic All-district honors by ESPN The Magazine before he graduating in 2008.

After ending his career as a player, he moved into his first coaching role as a graduate assistant for Illinois Wesleyan, where he worked with defensive linemen. After two years there, Kelly moved on Minnesota State-Moorhead. He was able to get a promotion to defensive line coach and defensive coordinator during his lone season in Minnesota.

After his season as defensive coordinator in 2010, Kelly moved on to a bigger college program and found himself back in a graduate assistant role at Ball State in Muncie, Ind. At Ball State, Kelly also dipped his toes into recruiting. He was responsible for a bevy of states, including Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Washington and Wyoming.

Kelly departed Ball State prior to the 2012 season and that is when one of the most important steps on his journey occurred. Kelly took a role as a graduate assistant at Penn State, The head coach at the time was Bill O’Brien. O’Brien had NFL experience, having been an assistant coach and eventual offensive coordinator for the New England Patriots prior to becoming the head man at Penn State.

Kelly developed a great relationship with O’Brien, so good in facty that when O’Brien left Penn State to become the head coach of the Houston Texans in 2014, Kelly went with him. During Kelly’s first two season in Houston, he served as quality control coach on the offensive side of the ball. In 2016, Kelly even got a chance to be connected to an actual position, becoming an assistant offensive line coach.

In 2017, he got promoted, becoming tight ends coach for the Texans. Kelly handled that role for two seasons before his big break arrived in 2019.

Kelly was named the Texans’ offensive coordinator in 2019. Kelly was not the offensive play caller that season, Bill O'Brien still had play calling duties, but the increased role was a big moment for the young coach. In 2020, O’Brien gave play-calling duties to Kelly and also named him quarterbacks coach. 

In what has become one of Kelly’s biggest accomplishments, then-Texans’ quarterback Deshaun Watson had his best statistical season as a pro, throwing for over 4,800 yards and 33 touchdowns. Kelly was able to pilot one of the top passing offenses in the NFL that season.

Tim Kelly will now serve as the Titans' offensive coordinator

In 2021, the Texans named a new head coach, David Culley. Despite the change, Tim Kelly was kept on the staff as the offensive coordinator. It was prior to 2021 that Titans coach Mike Vrabel actually requested an interview with Kelly to be the Titans’ offensive coordinator, but that request was denied by the Texans' front office.

The Texans’ offense — and team for that matter — did not perform particularly well in 2021, finishing with a 4-13 record and racking up the fewest offensive yards in the league, Kelly did get the best out of rookie quarterback Davis Mills. Mills took a significant step back in the 2022 season from a statistical standpoint. Mills went from a 66.8% completion rate in 2022 to 61% in 2021. His passer rating fell by ten points in 2022 compared to 2021(88.8 to 78.8) and Mills threw five more interceptions in 2022, tying the league lead. Mills had one of his best games as a pro in the final week of the 2021 season against the Tennessee Titans. Mills racked up 301 passing yards and three touchdowns in that matchup. Showing what Kelly can do to impact a young quarterback. Mills threw 

Culley was fired at the end of the 2021 season, and Kelly was let go as well. Vrabel jumped again, and added Kelly to the Titans’ coaching staff. At the time, the Titans had an offensive coordinator Todd Downing, so Kelly assumed the role of passing game coordinator in Tennessee.

After Downing’s firing at the end of the Titans’ 2022 season, the offensive coordinator position was now open. Vrabel finally got the opportunity to offer Kelly the role he wanted him in prior to the 2021 season. Kelly was promoted to offensive coordinator and will fill that role for the Titans entering the 2023 season.

"I don't think everything is broken. I don't. I don't believe that, and he (Kelly) can help us," Vrabel said. "He can also add some things that really help us and take advantage of some opportunities. I've seen him call games against us. I feel like he has a great feel for the game."

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