Matt Kelleher enters his first season as the Pioneers’ offensive line coach in 2018.
Kelleher comes to Malone by way of Maryville College, a NCAA Division III member of the USA South Conference located in Maryville, Tennessee. At Maryville, Kelleher coached the offensive line while also serving as the Scots’ Recruiting and Academic coordinator. Behind the offensive line in 2017, Maryville averaged 4.2 yards per rush, earning both Jesse Benavides-Munoz and Justin Byrd all-conference nods.
Prior to arriving at Maryville, Kelleher worked with the tight ends and H-backs at current Great Midwest Athletic Conference member, Ohio Dominican University. Panther tight ends saw impressive play and improvement under coach Kelleher, including All-GLIAC honors for tight end Aaron Stephens, who caught five touchdown passes and helped ODU to a 7-4 finish in 2016.
Kelleher also spent three seasons as the offensive line/tight ends coach, run-game coordinator and recruiting coordinator at Capital University. In each of Kelleher’s three seasons as run game coordinator and offensive line coach, the Crusaders posted a top-25 rushing offense. In 2013, Capital finished 20th in NCAA Division III, averaging just over 250 yards per game. The following year, the Crusaders finished 7th in the country (295.5 ypg) and at one point during the season was the No. 1 rushing team in the land. In 2015, Capital finished sixth in the nation and broke the school’s all-time rushing record previously set in 2014. Under Kelleher, B-back Brent Walton became the school’s all-time leading rusher and just the third Capital running back to register more than 1,000 rushing yards in a single season earning him an all-conference nod.
“Matt brings a great deal of experience to our staff and is an outstanding line coach as well as a great recruiter,” commented Malone head football coach Fred Thomas. “His experience in the GLIAC as well as coaching in Ohio at Ohio Dominican and Capital will be a great benefit. We are very happy to have Matt join our program.”
Prior to Capital, Kelleher served as an assistant coach (2007-10) and assistant head coach (2011-12) at Brevard College (N.C.), during which time they competed as a NCAA Division II member of the South Atlantic Conference (SAC). Kelleher served in a number of different roles at Brevard, including tight ends coach and defensive quality control manager (2007-08), running backs coach (2008) and offensive line coach (2009-12).
During his time at Brevard, Kelleher mentored five different All-SAC offensive linemen as the Tornados’ offense ranked in the top-15 in the nation in rushing in each season from 2010-12. In 2008, the team made the largest turnaround in win-loss record in all of NCAA Division II.
Kelleher graduated from Elon University (N.C.) in 2007 with a bachelor’s in sociology. He was a four-year member (2003-06) of the football program, which competes in the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) and the Colonial Athletic Association. He played tight end and defensive lineman for the Phoenix.
Kelleher was born and raised in Columbus, Ohio, until his family moved to Simpsonville, S.C., where he attended high school at Mauldin.
Matt and his wife Stacy (Keller) Kelleher call Columbus, Ohio home.
