Dixie State University Head Football Coach Paul Peterson announced on Friday the appointment of Kelly Bills as the Trailblazers' new offensive coordinator.

"We are very excited to welcome Kelly Bills to the Dixie State Trailblazer family as our offensive coordinator," Coach Peterson said. "Coach Bills has had success moving the ball and scoring points wherever he has been. Our offensive schemes are very similar and it will be a smooth transition with his added knowledge and background.

"Coach Bills knows how to develop players on the field but more importantly, in the community and classroom," Peterson added. "He is the exact caliber of coach that will help propel us during this [NCAA] D-1 jump."

Bills returns to the "Beehive State" after a one-year stint as offensive coordinator at NCAA Division-II Central Washington, where he helped lead the Wildcats to a 7-4 overall record and to their third-straight Great Northwest Athletic Conference (5-1) championship in 2019. Under Bills' guidance, CWU's offense led the GNAC in points (41.8 ppg - #10 in NCAA DII), total yards (504.7 ypg - #8 in NCAA DII), passing yards (293.1 ppg - #14 in NCAA DII), total touchdowns (60 – #t-18 in NCAA DII) and passing touchdowns (37), and finished second overall in rushing (211.6 ypg - #29 in NCAA DII).

"I'm very excited about joining Coach Peterson's staff at Dixie State University and coming back home to Utah," Coach Bills said. "I can't wait to start recruiting the very best student-athletes from all over the nation that will help take Dixie State Football to the next level."

Before to his time at CWU, Bills coached three seasons at NCAA FCS member Weber State from 2016-18, where he served as wide receivers coach for the first two seasons on the Wildcat staff before becoming the quarterbacks coach prior to the 2018 campaign. That season he helped lead Weber State to the second of three-straight Big Sky Conference championships (10-3/7-1 BSC) and to the NCAA FCS Playoff quarterfinal round. In 2018, Wildcat quarterbacks threw for 2,348 yards and 19 touchdowns.

Bills also spent a year as an assistant quarterback and wide receivers coach at Utah State (2015), and served as offensive coordinator at Division-III Willamette (OR) University for two seasons from 2013-14. While at WU, his Bearcat offense averaged 42 points a game (#15 in NCAA D-III), led the Northwest Conference in total offense, and broke a combined 23 individual offensive records in 2014. In addition, he coached 11 all-conference selections, highlighted by Dylan Jones, who earned Northwest Conference Offensive Player of the Year and All-America honors as the D-III leading rusher (177.7) in 2014.

Prior to that, Bills spent five seasons (2008-12) as a graduate assistant coach at his alma mater, BYU, under then head coach Bronco Mendenhall. Bills was the offensive quality control coach for the Cougars during the 2008 and 2009 seasons and also worked with wide receivers and quarterbacks. From 2010-12, he assisted in coaching quarterbacks and the offensive line. During his time in Provo, the Cougars posted a 46-19 record and went to five-straight bowl games.

A native of Littleton, Colo., Bills began his collegiate playing career as a quarterback at Southern Utah under then head coach Gary Andersen in 2003. After a two-year LDS Church mission, he transferred to BYU, where he played running back and special teams for two seasons.

Bills earned a Bachelor's degree in History from BYU in 2011, and is currently working on a Master's degree in rehabilitation and counseling at Utah State. He and his wife, Emily, are the parents of three sons – Brooks, Cooper and Jace.