BOCA RATON, Fla. (AP) — When Zach Kittley was initially meeting with Florida Atlantic President Stacy Volnick, he described himself as having a laid-back personality.
Volnick suspects otherwise. That's why Kittley is the new coach of the Owls.
FAU introduced Kittley on Friday, four days after he took the job and assumed the task of rebuilding a program that reached great heights under Lane Kiffin — two 11-win seasons in a three-year span — and has largely sputtered in the five years since.
“When I met Zach, I knew he would be a good fit to the culture that we have created here,” Volnick said. “During our first conversation, he described himself as ‘a chill person.’ Zach, this is our first disagreement. ... You are a type-A-quadruple-plus personality. You are anything but chill. You are driven. You are focused on details. You value character and you know what you want to build here.”
The Owls gave Kittley a five-year contract in order to rebuild the program, which finished 3-9 this season and 1-7 in the American Athletic Conference. He was the top target throughout the search, FAU athletic director Brian White said.
“He's won at every level,” White said. “And he's been a difference-maker at every level.”
Kittley was Texas Tech's offensive coordinator for the last three seasons. Even though he's only 33, he can say that he was involved with Super Bowl champion quarterback Patrick Mahomes' development at Texas Tech before he moved on to the Kansas City Chiefs and became one of the biggest stars in football.
“I took this job because of the players,” Kittley said. “I spent the last three days meeting with our current roster ... and I can tell you I am 100% in the right place to lead these young men.”
Kittley is replacing Tom Herman, who was fired two weeks ago with two games left in his second year at the school. Kittley had stints as offensive coordinator at Houston Baptist and Western Kentucky before returning to Texas Tech — his alma mater — in 2022 in the same role. The Red Raiders averaged 435 yards per game over the last three seasons under Kittley, 22nd best among all FBS teams.
“I'm about to bring an exciting offense back to FAU,” Kittley said. “We're going to light up the scoreboard.”
This season saw the Red Raiders rank among the nation’s best offenses: They were eighth in yards per play, eighth in points per game and 10th in yards per game.
“I took this job because I want to be here,” Kittley said. “I’m honored to be your head football coach because I know that we’re going to build a program here and we’re going to go win AAC championships. Florida Atlantic University could not be in a better situation than it is right now; an all-time high in enrollment, climbing the ranks academically across the country and we will continue to carry on that mission during my time here as head football coach.”
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