The Miami Dolphins bolster the front office with a new “senior personnel executive.”
The Miami Dolphins hired former Las Vegas Raiders assistant general manager Champ Kelly on Friday, agreeing to serve as a “senior personnel executive,” according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter. Kelly will assist general manager Chris Grier’s front office with pro and college scouting.
Kelly began his NFL career as a college scout with the Denver Broncos in 2007, then was promoted to be the team’s assistant coordinator of pro and college scouting in 2008. He was again promoted in 2010, taking over as the Broncos’ assistant director of pro personnel.
He moved in 2015 to the Chicago Bears as the director of pro scouting, then was named the team’s assistant director of player personnel in 2017. He was hired in 2022 by the Las Vegas Raiders as the assistant general manager, with a stint in 2023 as the team’s interim general manager after the firing of Dave Ziegler. Kelly remained with the team as the assistant general manager with the hiring of Tom Telesco for the 2024 season. He was released from his contract with the Raiders in February wen the team changed general managers again.
Kelly has interviewed for several general manager positions over the past few seasons. At just 45 years old, he has already established himself as a respected executive who should find his way to running a front office in the next few years.
The Dolphins are looking to reload a roster that underperformed in 2024, but they are doing it with constraints brought on by limited salary cap space this year. Kelly’s presence in the front office could assist Grier and the staff with shaping the roster for this year while better positioning the team against the salary cap in future years.
Kelly’s exact role and responsibilities have not been reported.
