Kelly Poppinga
American football player and coach (born 1982)
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Kelly Scott Poppinga (born January 31, 1982) is an American football coach and former player. He has been the defensive coordinator at Brigham Young University (BYU) since January 2026. Prior to coaching at BYU, he was the co-defensive coordinator and the linebackers and special teams coach at the University of Virginia (UVA).
| Current position | |
|---|---|
| Title | Defensive coordinator |
| Team | BYU |
| Conference | Big 12 |
| Biographical details | |
| Born | January 31, 1982 Evanston, Wyoming, U.S. |
| Playing career | |
| 2003–2004 | Utah State |
| 2006–2007 | BYU |
| 2008 | Miami Dolphins |
| 2008 | St. Louis Rams |
| 2008 | Arizona Cardinals |
| Position | Linebacker |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 2009 | BYU (intern) |
| 2010 | BYU (GA) |
| 2011–2012 | BYU (LB) |
| 2013–2015 | BYU (ST/LB) |
| 2016–2017 | Virginia (ST/OLB) |
| 2018–2020 | Virginia (co-DC/OLB) |
| 2021 | Virginia (co-DC/LB) |
| 2022 | Boise State (co-ST/Edge) |
| 2023–2025 | BYU (ST/DE) |
| 2026–present | BYU (DC/ILB) |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Awards | |
Playing career
Poppinga played college football at Utah State University and BYU as a linebacker. He was signed by the Miami Dolphins of the NFL as an undrafted free agent in 2008 and also spent time that season with the St. Louis Rams and Arizona Cardinals.
Coaching career
In December 2015, Poppinga was hired by Bronco Mendenhall to follow him to UVA as the outside linebackers coach after being in the same role at BYU under Mendenhall.[1] Following the end of the 2021 season, Poppinga was not retained by the new UVA coaching staff but was hired a short time later at Boise State University.[2] Poppinga was hired on December 7, 2022, back to BYU as a special team coordinator and defensive assistant coach.[3]
Personal life
Kelly is the younger brother of former NFL linebacker Brady Poppinga.
