MADRID Eight weeks. Thats how long Champ Kelly has to make an impression with the Miami Dolphins, and particularly with owner Stephen Ross, if hes to remove the interim label from his title of general manager.
He cant draft a single player in that time, even though hes a firm believer in building that way.
He cant make another trade, because the NFL deadline for that passed four days after he was named to succeed Chris Grier.
What can he do?
Make the best of the situation and make the decision easy for his boss.
And hes fine with that.
There’s an opportunity for me in this situation, Kelly told a handful of reporters in Spain on Friday. But I’m gonna tell you guys this: North Florida, right in the community where I’m from, Campbellton, all the people I know around there, all they do is work. So I’m not going to sit here and try to sell you on me getting this job. I will work every day, attack it with focus and the right intensity. And let whatever may come, come. But for these eight weeks, youre getting all Champ.
And whether that lasts for eight weeks, eight months, eight years or 18 years down the road, youre get all of me. And that’s the only way I know how to be. God will never bless who you pretend to be.
Wearing a Miami Dolphins warmup suit and sitting in a suite overlooking the Atletico Madrid stadium as the Dolphins went through their final practice before playing the Washington Commanders in the first NFL game in Spain, Kelly smiled often, easily shifting from explaining his football philosophy to his personal experience growing up across the street from a cornfield in North Florida near the Alabama border.
He talked about his experiences in the Denver Broncos organization and being close to the Shanahan family, but he isnt ready to say hes part of the Shanahan tree.
Im of the tree of Mary Sorey, he said. And thats my grandmother.
She raised him. He unflinchingly volunteered the cold, hard truth of his youth: that his father sold drugs and his mother used them. It could have been an excuse, if Kelly let it. But one gift his mother gave him was his nickname, Champ, after a tough childbirth. It wasnt until he was a week old that his birth certificate was stamped with the given name, Anthony, that pretty much nobody uses anymore.
I believe that your belief drives your behavior, right? Kelly said. So when I approach people, I approach people to say, Be bold in what you believe in and allow your behavior to drive those beliefs.
So as a would-be general manager, what does Champ Kelly believe in?
With the constraints of the salary cap, the best way to build a sustainable winner is through the draft, he said. And then you supplement that by smart decisions in free agency. And I’m a firm believer in incremental progression at every position group throughout the season.
Kelly has been through the drill before. He served as the Las Vegas Raiders interim general manager once, getting that temporary promotion, like his one in Miami, on Halloween.
Im at least going to get a Progressive commercial of being the backup guy, he joked.
Kelly has taken multiple stabs at GM jobs before via interviews. This likely is his best shot yet. His marching orders?
Ultimately, Stephen just said, Were going to do everything that we can to win for our fans and our football team this year and moving forward. And so in every decision that we made during that time (before the trade deadline) and leading up to that time, it was ultimately just trying to make sure we set the Dolphins up for success.
In the end, the only deal the Dolphins made was sending linebacker Jaelan Phillips to the Philadelphia Eagles for a third-round pick, because Phillips is due to become a free agent after the season.
Thats not to say Kelly didnt have a massive homework assignment for the trade deadline.
We said what we would value to each and every one of our players, Kelly said. Outside of just the names that you guys (reporters) hear and mentioned.
Word was the Buffalo Bills were interested in receiver Jaylen Waddle. Whatever value Kelly set for Waddles services, the price tag went up for the Bills, Patriots or Jets.
Im not a fan of going and watching a player that weve drafted and grown compete against us in a division, he said.
Besides relying on just his eyes, Kelly is big on analytics. And why wouldnt he be? Before entering the world of the NFL, he worked for IBM as a software engineer.
If teams are even with us in innovation and thinking outside of the box and making decisions that arent just so subjective, then were already left behind, he said.
Kelly view of coach Mike McDaniel is based on years of experience from their shared experiences in Denver.
I think the things that Ive seen and noticed since Ive been here is he is relentless and trying to put his players in the right place to be successful, he said. He isnt just trying to fit people to a scheme. Hes always trying to pour into his players and his coaches to maximize their ability.
Of course, the most important of those pieces is quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, whom Kelly scouted entering the draft. He said he saw Tagovailoa as a talented passer who took command of pre-snap situations.
The things that I didn’t know about Tua was how dedicated he is to his family and how his spirituality drives his relationships and leadership style. And thats extremely important to him, and thats something that I hold true and dear to my heart as well.
Even though he had only four days to work any trade deals, hes not complaining. He calls it a rep in an area I havent had. Not to mention, he doesnt sound like a person into complaining in the first place.
I know who I am and what I am, he said.
He is, now, an interim general manager hoping to be a general manager.
This stuff is easy, he said. Because Ive dealt with tough. So thats reality.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Interim GM Champ Kelly driven to give Miami Dolphins ‘all Champ’