Chad Kelly’s CFL Coach Has To Kick Him Out Of Team Facility While He Works To Defend Grey Cup Championship

Chad Kelly is back in Toronto and looking to repeat. The 29-year-old quarterback is preparing for his second season in the Canadian Football League as the reigning Grey Cup champion and is finally the guy for the Argonauts.

Kelly, one of the best quarterbacks in Ole Miss history, has had off-field issues keep him from reaching his peak throughout his six-year professional career. That doesn't mean that he can't ball, and hasn't changed or come of age.

Oh, completely different. I just wanted to help too many people in the sense that I wanted to make everyone else happy and myself happy. I really didn't understand what that meant until I mentally figured out where I was as a person; what I can and can't do, what I should and shouldn't do.

After beginning at Clemson, winning a JUCO national title at East Mississippi (Last Chance U), and then arriving in Oxford, Kelly led the Rebels to back-to-back wins over Nick Saban and Alabama, and a Sugar Bowl win. He remains the highest-rated quarterback in 'Sport Science' history, and continues to be one of the most athletic signal-callers in the world.

Kelly believes that he can start over most NFL quarterbacks today, and there is a legitimate case to be made— for a backup job, at the very least.

Chad Kelly Finds A Home

However, after a tumultuous few years in the NFL, he remains in Canada. Kelly arrived in Toronto last season and spent the entire year as the backup to McLeod Bethel-Thompson.

But then, after Bethel-Thompson got injured late in the fourth quarter of the Grey Cup, it was time to unlock the Swag. Kelly entered the Canadian Super Bowl with the Argos down by six, and led them to a 24-23 win.

Bethel-Thompson then joined the New Orleans Breakers of the USFL. It's Kelly's team now.

Kelly does not plan to squander his opportunity.

I just know that you’re going to get a guy who’s super dedicated – not just saying it but living it. This is what I love. I breathe this, I eat this; I do everything in my power to be the best player possible.

While those words may sound inflammatory, they are not. He spent most of the winter watching film and working out with his receivers in The Six and immersed himself in the playbook.

When Kelly wasn't in Toronto, he was working at the Simms Complete QB Camp in New Jersey. Nobody is going to out-work him, especially now that he has the keys to the offense.

What's different is probably my mental toughness, my mental capacity; just how hard that's been over the past seven years. I've had the ability to learn so much from so many different people and just using everything that I've gained knowledge from.

Toronto's New Leader

Having a year under his belt has allowed him to settle-in and focus on the little things.

Being around the system for Year Two now and really trying to hone in on the really small details, now I feel comfortable. I know what I'm looking for, I know what I'm seeing. I'm having accelerated vision out there. It makes everything easier.

Argonauts head coach Ryan Dinwiddie is loving what he is seeing from his new starting quarterback, both as a player and a teammate. He added that he has to kick Kelly out of the building because he works too hard.

Kelly's teammates are also excited about how things are coming along. The chemistry is already there, they just need to execute.

Toronto began its 2023 campaign with the first week of the preseason over the weekend. Kelly was feeling some tightness in his elbow, so he sat despite plans to play two series, but will be good to go for Thursday's game.

Kelly and the Argos will get their regular season underway on June 18.