Before he became the passing-game coordinator and then the offensive coordinator of the Tennessee Titans, Tim Kelly spent seven years on the coaching staff of the Houston Texans, three of which was spent as OC.
In the wake of Tennessee promoting Kelly, we’ve been trying to get a better grasp on how he’ll handle things on offense.
The best place to get an idea of Kelly’s approach comes via Zach Lyons of Broadway Sports Media, who did a great breakdown of Kelly upon Tennessee hiring him in 2022.
We also have this quote from Texans quarterback Davis Mills, who played under and had success with Kelly in 2021.
In the quote, which comes from our friends at Texans Wire, Mills talks about the difference between a Kelly-run offense and the one he played under with Pep Hamilton in 2022.
One big difference? Kelly puts more on the quarterback pre-snap.
“[Tim Kelly’s offense is] completely quarterback-driven pre-snap and the big focus from Pep when he stepped in this role was he wants to take as much off the quarterback as he can so we can play fast,” Mills said. “Obviously, we have a lot of control in making sure we’re in the correct protection and the correct mike point, basically confirming or changing anything, but the center does the initial point and making the initial calls. So, that takes a lot off my plate, especially in the run game. We can go out there and play fast when the center is pointing it.”
While it makes sense to ask a bit less of a young quarterback like Mills, the former third-round pick actually took a step back in his second season with Hamilton at the helm as opposed to his first with Kelly.
Assuming Kelly’s approach is the same as it was in Houston, he’s going to put more on the shoulders of his quarterback, which could make for a steeper learning curve for a young signal-caller if the Titans actually land one.
However, Kelly’s track record of success with both Mills and Deshaun Watson shows young quarterbacks can be just fine with that approach.
