Publication select ▼
ROYAL OAK — Shrine Catholic High School is bringing back one of its own.
The school has named 2015 graduate and former Shrine football captain Chris Kelly the program’s next head football coach.
There is excitement surrounding the hire from the top down.
“The excitement is there. It’s in the halls,” Shrine Catholic Athletic Director Ben Kerfoot said. “Just with what he’s done here (in the past), everyone’s just excited to get going.”
The hire comes after a disappointing end to a solid season for Shrine in 2024. The team went 7-3; however, it lost 52-0 to Warren Michigan Collegiate in the first round of the district playoffs.
“I just want to build on what they did last year,” Kelly said. “I want to improve them as much as I can, because we have a big senior class. … So, I have to tap into that potential as much as I can in just a couple months.”
Kelly is an offensive-minded coach and is taking over a team that scored 14 or fewer points in six of Shrine’s 10 games last season. Preparing the offense with offensive coordinator John Wangler will be a large part of training camp this summer.
“Wangler graduated from Shrine and played quarterback at the University of Michigan,” Kelly said. “It’s sort of a spread power run (offense). I want to score points.”
On the defensive side of the ball, the coordinator will be another Shrine graduate in Harry Cooney. Cooney played college football at Albion and looks to have an aggressive defense with Kelly this fall.
The coaching staff being led by three Shrine graduates isn’t lost on anyone. The program wants people in charge who know and understand the importance of the Shrine Catholic culture.
“That was a big thing for us. It helps create that story for the kids so that they understand … being at Shrine isn’t like being anywhere else,” Kerfoot explained.
That mindset is important to Shrine. The expectation is to be active in the community and be a great student while continuing to succeed athletically.
“We’re not looking for someone that’s coming in and just focusing on a sport,” Kerfoot said. “We want our coaches to be involved in the community and make good young men and women.”
Kelly can help be a positive influence on the young men playing football because he’s a young man himself. At just 28 years old, he’ll be one of the younger coaches in the state.
“It’s definitely something people will talk about … but we think it’ll work out just fine,” Kerfoot said. “That wasn’t really a factor for us, and I know he’s bringing in a lot of experience with him.”
During his time at Shrine, Kelly played football, lacrosse and hockey all while doing enough outside of sports to earn the Catholic High School League’s John Shada Award his senior year. The award recognizes “exceptional achievement in the areas of Academics, Leadership, Community Service, and Athletics” while playing varsity football, according to chsl.com.
“First things first, they’re student-athletes. That’s how I was raised,” Kelly said. “I think the football players in the school can be the leaders of the school. … I want them to be the role models of the school.”
The expectations are set. On the field and off the field, Shrine football will be held to a high standard, and Kelly wants to build a program that is able to reach those standards year in and year out.
“I’ve already told the team this: I want to make the Prep Bowl,” Kelly said. “Making the state playoffs is definitely a goal of ours. … Hopefully go undefeated in the (Catholic) League and play at Ford Field.”
The first-time head coach will look to build a long-standing tradition at the high school.
“I didn’t know when I was going to get my first head coaching job, but it came a little sooner than I thought,” Kelly said. “I want to lay a good foundation of what I want to bring to Shrine football. … I want to be a stable coach at the high school.”
Royal Oak Shrine Catholic will open the 2025 season at home against Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood on Aug. 28.
