Mike Kelly ( American football coach ) Mike Kelly is a former American football coach . He was the head football coach at the University of Dayton from 1981 to 2007 . In 27 years as the head coach at Dayton , he compiled a record of 246 – 54 – 1 . Kelly ranks among the top 25 college football coaches of all time in both winning percentage ( . 819 ) and wins ( 246 ) . Among coaches with at least 25 years of experience , he has the fourth best winning percentage of all time . Biography . Kelly is a graduate of Milton - Union High School in West Milton , Ohio , and Manchester College in North Manchester , Indiana . He played both quarterback for the football team and catcher for the baseball team at Manchester College . He received a bachelor ' s degree in physical education and health from Manchester College . Kelly began his coaching career as a high school football coach . He coached at the high school level from 1970 to 1974 while earning a master ' s degree in physical education from Ball State University . From 1975 to 1976 , he was an assistant coach at Hanover College in Hanover , Indiana . He joined the coaching staff at the University of Dayton in 1977 as the defensive coordinator under head coach Rick Carter . After four years as the defensive coordinator , Kelly took over as head coach of the Dayton Flyers football team in 1981 . He later recalled the day he learned that he had been selected : " The day I was informed that I would be the head football coach , I remember walking out of St . Mary ' s Hall and looking up at the chapel , and it was overwhelming to think that , golly , I ' m the new head football coach at the University of Dayton . " Kelly remained Dayton ' s head football coach for 27 years and compiled a record of 246 – 54 – 1 . Kelly is among the top 25 college football coaches of all time in terms of both winning pecentage and wins . As of 2008 , he ranked 21st among all college football coaches in all divisions with an . 819 winning percentage over 27 seasons . Among coaches with at least 25 years of experience , Kelly ' s winning percentage of . 819 ranks fourth best all time , trailing only Florida A & M ' s Jake Gaither ( . 844 ) , Nebraska ' s Tom Osborne ( . 836 ) and Michigan ' s Fielding H . Yost ( . 828 ) . In total wins , Kelly ranks 20th all time with 246 . He was the second fastest coach in NCAA history to reach 200 wins . Kelly accomplished the feat in 242 games — second only to Jake Gaither who reached the 200 - win level in 240 games . He led Dayton to three national championships — the NCAA Division III national championship in 1989 and NCAA Mid - Major national championships in 2002 and 2007 . In 2007 , Kelly ' s last as head coach , his team compiled an 11 - 1 record , won the Gridiron Classic and was crowned NCAA FCS Mid - Major national champions . He coached 44 Academic All - Americans and 84 first team All - Americans in his 27 years as Dayton ' s head coach . Kelly was frequently considered for coaching positions at larger schools , including Yale , Dartmouth , Columbia , and Penn , but opted to stay at Dayton . In 1996 , he described his motivation for staying at Dayton , " There is a very basic reason why I haven ' t put a great deal of effort in other jobs . I just love it here . I think we ' re accepted and respected in the community . Those things are all very valuable in your life . You want to feel wanted - that ' s pretty basic , I think - and we ' ve always felt that . " He also noted that he enjoyed working with non - scholarship athletes who were playing for the love of the game : " It ' s a blast . It ' s a lot of fun to deal with those kind of people . They want to have fun , and they ' re gonna work hard , but every one of them is out there because they want to be . I look forward to going to practice . They ' re wide - eyed . ( They ' re saying ) ' Teach me something coach . ' " Kelly was selected six times as the Coach of the Year in the Pioneer Football League and was honored seven times as the national Coach of the Year . Dayton played in NCAA Division III for Kelly ' s first 12 seasons as head coach and went to the Division III playoffs eight times . For his last 15 seasons , Dayton played in the NCAA Division I - AA non - scholarship division . Kelly was inducted into the University of Dayton Athletic Hall of Fame in February 2008 . On July 16 , 2011 , Coach Kelly was inducted into the National Football Foundation ’ s College Football Hall of Fame . The ceremony was co - hosted by one of Coach Kelly ' s former players and former Super Bowl Champion head coach , Jon Gruden . He is married to Jeanne Kelly , and they have two daughters , Jodie Beth and Nikki .