Caldwell University Athletics

Jim Kelly completed his sixth season as the head sprint football coach at Caldwell in 2023. He also serves as an athletics administrator within the department. In addition to his coaching duties, Kelly serves as the site supervisor for several sports. 

In 2022, Kelly led the Cougars to a second straight 5-2 record, and earning a program best 13 all-league honorees, including the Cougars' first major award winner in Devon Turner (Rookie of the Year), plus seven CSFL All-Academic Team members and three inductees into the National Football Foundation's (NFF) Hampshire Honor Society. The campaign followed up a 2021 season in which his squad earned 12 all-league selections as well as five CSFL All-Academic honorees and two NFFHHS members.

Prior to joining Caldwell before the program's second year, Kelly had over 30 years of coaching experience, including eight seasons as an assistant coach at Montclair State University. Kelly served as the head varsity coach at Queen of Peace High School in 2015, and earlier was part of the coaching staff at Montclair State from 2005-12. His role as an assistant coach at Montclair State included two New Jersey Athletic Conference titles as well as two trips to the NCAA Division III playoffs.
 
Kelly has a long track record of coaching success on the high school level. Serving as an assistant coach at Parsippany Hills (1987-88) and Montville (1989-90) early in his career, Kelly spent two seasons as an assistant at Clifton High School before becoming the Mustangs head coach in 1992. In his fourth season at Clifton, Kelly led his team to the NJSIAA State Playoffs - the first for the school in 13 years. Kelly went on to be named the All-Area Coach of the Year by the Herald and News. During his tenure at Clifton, Kelly coached future Academic All-American and Doak Walker Candidate, UNLV running back Joe Haro.
 
In 1997, Kelly returned to his scholastic alma mater, Nutley High School, where he roamed the Raiders’ sidelines for seven seasons, receiving All-Area Coach of the Year honors during his first season. He is the only public school Head Football Coach to defeat public school power Montclair High in consecutive seasons while at the helm at two different schools. At Nutley, he was recognized by the Nutley Board of Education for his work in reaching the 1 Million Dollar Plateau in student-athletic scholarship grants. Kelly has placed over 85 student-athletes at the next level of college football in his tenure as a Head Coach.
 
Kelly was a television station manager and instructor for 20 years at Nutley High School. In 2014, he received the Governors Educator of the Year Award. Kelly’s efforts in the classroom were recognized again in 2016 as he was honored with the NJ JAM Award for the best-produced campus sports talk show.
 
A graduate of Montclair State in 1981, Kelly earned a bachelor’s degree in broadcast communications and completed his master’s in Counseling at New Jersey City University in 2007. He resides in Nutley with his wife Mary Ann and their two children Christine and Natalie.

Kelly File
 

	Overall			CSFL	Division
Year	Wins	Losses		Wins	Losses	Note
2018	0	7		0	4	CSFL South
2019	2	5		1	3	CSFL South
2020	0	0		0	0	Season Canceled/COVID-19 Pandemic
2021	5	2		3	1	CSFL North Division Second Place
2022	5	2		3	1	CSFL North Division Second Place
2023	2	4		1	2	CSFL North Division Third Place
Total	14	20		8	11