Sometimes, procrastination is beneficial and waiting until the last minute is life-changing.

Long before Kelly Kleine became respected for a stick-to-the-task approach and work ethic that has fueled her NFL front-office rise, she was just another college student whose to-do list didn’t always include homework.

The spring of 2012 was a classic example. For an assignment, Kleine had to interview a person in the sports communications field, and the clock was ticking.

“It was two days before it was due and I was like, ‘Crap, I’ve got to find somebody,’” she told The Denver Post during a training camp interview.

Through a classmate, Kleine was connected with Jeff Anderson, who at the time was the Minnesota Vikings’ director of corporate communications. Because she didn’t have a car, her University of Minnesota roommate, Molly, drove her to the team’s facility in suburban Eden Prairie.

Just as quickly, a turn of the tables had Anderson interviewing Kleine to join the Vikings’ game-day internship program.

That meeting started a journey equal parts impressive and improbable. Impressive because Kleine is believed to be the NFL’s second highest-ranking woman on the football side of a team. Improbable because her football experience prior to joining the Vikings was attending Green Bay Packers games and assisting her college’s sports information department.

Hired on April 17, Kleine’s title is lengthy — executive director of football operations and special advisor to general manager George Paton — and so is her job description. From her office adjacent to Paton on the second floor of the Broncos’ facility, she supervises the team’s equipment and video departments, organizes the team’s pro/college scouting efforts, does pro scouting and is Paton’s top administrative hand.

“She’s involved in everything,” said Paton, who supervised Kleine with the Vikings from 2013-20. “She is a liaison to a lot of different departments for me. She’s in charge of a number of things and is a sounding board for me.”

A sounding board for Paton and one for other women in the sports industry. She won’t voluntarily wave the flag and yell, “Look at me! I have a big title!” but she is aware of the platform she has and will provide mentorship to any young woman who seeks it.

“She carries herself with confidence, but in a humble way and she’s incredibly talented at what she does,” said Brittany Bowlen, the Broncos’ senior vice president of strategy and daughter of late owner Pat Bowlen.

And Kleine is only 30 years old.

Instantly loved NFL

The rules of the house from Arthur and Barb Kleine of Sheboygan, Wis., delivered to their three kids (Eric, Aimee and Kelly): Play sports or get a job. You will work in the summer. In-home chores are not a request, but a demand. And when college arrives, get your student loan applications in early.

Eric, 34, is a teacher, and Aimee, 33, works for Kohler Co., in Sheboygan. Both were off to college by the time Kelly reached the latter stages of high school. She played basketball, softball and golf at Sheboygan North. At 5 feet, 3 1/2 inches, Kelly said she was the “hype person” on the bench who played only in basketball blowouts, “OK” as a shortstop and “pretty decent” at golf.

KIeine knew she wanted to leave the “Sheboygan bubble” for a big college. Her parents wanted Kelly to play golf at a small school. Kelly and Barb were visiting St. Thomas, a private university in St. Paul.

“We said, ‘Let’s go check out the U of M while we’re here,’” Kelly said. “I went to the campus and just fell in love with it.”

Wisconsin residents attending Minnesota are eligible for in-state tuition, which clinched Kelly’s decision.

Kleine worked in the Gophers’ sports information department, responsible for swimming and women’s basketball publicity.

“I thought I would take (the media relations) route,” she said. “My dream job in college was to be a sideline reporter, but then I realized I wasn’t a great, clear speaker all the time so I gave up on that dream and got into the PR side at Minnesota.”

The NFL opportunity began with meeting Anderson at the Vikings.

“I don’t think I said anything profound during the interview,” said Anderson, who is now the team’s vice president of strategic and corporate communications.

At least one thing caught Kleine’s attention, though: The opportunity to add another item to her growing resume.

Soon after, she was pitching in at home games and on busy days during the regular season

“Loved it,” Kleine said.

Entering her senior year (2012 football season), she balanced internships with the Vikings and Gophers and a part-time job at the university’s recreation center.

If she couldn’t borrow a friend’s car, Kleine walked from her apartment to a city bus that took her to downtown Minneapolis. She switched buses for the trip to Eden Prairie and walked a few blocks to the Vikings.

“Just jumping through those hoops to get a foot in the door (was impressive),” Anderson said. “She did the work and put in an incredible amount of time. She brought this humor and energy to our department.”

Kleine was continuing her internship with the media relations department in March 2013 when the scouting office needed help.

Vikings’ “best intern”

Kleine admits she “fell into” working on the football side. Before the ’13 draft, Vikings scout Steven Price gauged her interest in assisting the scouting staff.

“I didn’t know what I was getting myself into,” she said. “(General manager) Rick (Spielman) called me into his office and we had a good, long talk and they hadn’t (previously) hired a female in that department. He didn’t lie to me — he said, ‘These are the hours and this is what to expect.’ I was all in.”

Paton was the Vikings’ assistant general manager and said the initial plan was to have Kleine help out through the draft. That quickly changed once the staff saw her seamlessly integrate herself into their world.

“The best intern we ever had,” Paton said. “She was unbelievable.”

Kleine graduated, was a scouting intern in ’13, a scouting assistant in ’14 (full-time job), the college scouting coordinator from ’15-’16 and manager of player personnel/college scouting in ’19-’20. She leaned on experienced evaluators like Paton, Spielman and retired player/scout Scott Studwell for advice and Scouting 101 instruction for Price, the other scouts and late offensive line coach Tony Sparano.

“It was a whole different world and I loved everything about it,” Kleine said. “I didn’t play football so I didn’t know all the Xs and Os and that first summer, we did a deep dive into scouting and I had no clue of the whole process behind scouting and the draft. The whole department was incredible to me and I felt at home right away.”

Each summer, the Vikings have a “Scout School” for their younger evaluators. Kleine participated and afterward, she visited Price’s office for extra studying and discussing of the process.

“She was constantly interested about how people saw the game and how she could articulate what she saw into her own words,” said Price, now the New York Giants’ pro personnel manager, in a phone interview.

Where Kleine thrived in particular was connecting with college coaches and prospects.

Her inquisitive side was on display during the annual scouting combine in Indianapolis. Each night, the speed dating portion of the event happens when prospects have 15-minute interviews with team officials. Kleine managed the bullpen, making sure the next player scheduled was present when the horn blew for the next session. It was her chance to glean information from prospects.

“I loved that because I got to see the real person,” she said. “I’m standing with them in the hallway and I get to shoot the (bull) with them and just get a feel for them and if they’re a good communicator or constantly on their phone, if they’re friendly or not, how they treat other people, if they’re talking to the other (prospects). You see the real person instead of when they’re in the interview room, they’re focused and serious and putting on a little bit of a face to impress more people.”

Said Price: “I have never seen anybody who is more of a natural interviewer than Kelly. She didn’t know how valuable that was until we would get into the (pre-draft) meeting and ask her about her experiences with the player.”

Kleine’s family expected her to be involved in sports, but not the NFL; Barb figured it would be the PGA Tour. As she advanced with the Vikings, Arthur beamed with pride.

“He always said, ‘You know what? This girl, she’s going to make it,’” Barb said.

Making dad proud

Arthur Kleine was born and raised in Sheboygan and graduated from Wis.-Whitewater, the first person in his family to attend college. Following a stint at Kohler Co., he was working as the director of international supply chain for the Johnsonville sausage company. Arthur sustained a stroke and died on Sept. 13, 2017, at a Milwaukee hospital. He was only 58 years old.

“He was a healthy guy,” Aimee said. “It literally came out of nowhere. Very, very unexpected.”

Pausing to collect herself during a follow-up phone interview last Friday, Kelly simply said: “Yeah, it sucked.”

Arthur is why the early morning/late night nature of the NFL doesn’t bother Kelly.

“We didn’t realize it back then and it (ticked) us off a little bit as kids — he was a hard-ass on us,” she said. “He made us work. Whatever he did, it taught us a lesson.”

If Arthur represented the grinding characteristic, Barb gave the care-free/people person trait to Kelly. Aimee likes to say her sister will strike up friendships on short airplane flights.

“He was so dang proud of Kelly,” Eric Kleine said. “When somebody would ask about her, his face would light up.”

Arthur was a founding member of the Sheboygan Lions Club and a golf tournament is held every September in his honor. The goal is to raise at least $10,000 this year, aided by signed footballs from John Elway and Von Miller. It will be the first one Kelly misses because part of her new role with the Broncos is traveling with the team.

Paton was hired by the Broncos on Jan. 13, and “I have always had Kelly in mind if I was to get a job (as general manager).”

Kleine was believed to the league’s highest-ranking female on the football side of an organization until Catherine Raiche was promoted to vice president of football operations by the Philadelphia Eagles on April 27.

Kleine understands why her hire generated attention, but her approach hasn’t changed. Doing her job and team success could lead to more opportunities.

“If this helps one person realize that they can be whatever they want to be in the NFL, it gives me chills to think about that,” she said. “But I’m just here to work.”

A journey that began with a school assignment nine years ago and featured a steady climb within the Vikings’ organization continues Sunday at the New York Giants when Kleine watches her first regular season as a Broncos executive.

“It’s a fresh, new feeling and it’s exciting,” she said. “New role. Exciting team. I feel the whole team and the whole city is looking forward to it. It’s going to be awesome. We have a good roster and a good group of people. I’m pumped to get to Sunday.”