BOCA RATON, Fla. (AP) — At 34, Florida Atlantic’s Zach Kittley is the youngest head coach in major college football this season. And his 6-foot-7 frame makes him stand out as well.
Makes sense, since turning FAU back into a winner might be a tall order.
Kittley is an anomaly in a whole bunch of ways. He hasn’t played football since high school. He freely acknowledges that he’s not the best coach in his own family; his father, a track coach with more championship rings than fingers and toes, has that distinction. And not only is he taking on the task of being a first-time head coach, he’s doing so while also calling FAU’s plays — a dual role that few at his level dare to tackle.
“I know that’s why I’m here,” said Kittley, whose debut with the Owls is Saturday at Maryland. “Brian White didn’t hire me to not call plays.”
True, White — FAU’s athletic director — went out and got Kittley last December after taking notice of what his offenses had accomplished.
Kittley, who played on the defensive side of the ball in high school, 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. Last season, when FAU made the hire, the Red Raiders’ national ranks were eighth in yards per play, eighth in points per game, 10th in yards per game and second in plays per game.
In talent-rich South Florida, where there is no shortage of speedy skill-position players, White thinks Kittley’s style is a perfect match.
“I think he’s special,” White said. “I was very intrigued by his resume, his background, his numbers. I’d seen it first-hand since we played against him at Western Kentucky. I had to talk to him. It wasn’t a foregone conclusion, but he just popped in our first conversation … and he seemed like a winner all-around. I was blown away and when we met with the committee, he was far and away the winner of the interview.”
There’s no secret to what Kittley — once a coach tasked with helping Patrick Mahomes at the college level, and now someone who has the Kansas City Chiefs quarterback’s jersey hanging in his Boca Raton office — wants to do with the Owls. They’re going to play fast. Really fast.
Teams at the FBS level averaged 36 points in wins last season; FAU was 3-1 when scoring that many points a year ago, and 0-8 when it didn’t reach that number.
“Definitely a little adjustment at first,” FAU tight end Reid Mikeska said when asked about the pace of the Owls’ offense. “But Coach Kitt’s offense is great. I think it’ll hurt the opponents we play more than us, for sure.”
Kittley’s big break might have come when Kliff Kingsbury convinced him to be a student assistant, then a graduate assistant (turning down higher-paying jobs at that time) and then becoming a quarterbacks coach with Texas Tech. He then ran a high-powered offense at Houston Baptist, returned to Texas Tech as the coordinator and now has the chance at FAU.
At Texas Tech for the past three years, Kittley worked alongside his father. Wes Kittley is a legendary track coach with more than 30 national championships to his credit at Abilene Christian and with the Red Raiders.
“He takes care of people. He’s genuine,” Zach Kittley said of his father. “Just a great guy. The best man I’ve ever known.”
The sports — track and football — are obviously different. The rules for coaching are the same, at least to Kittley. He treats his staff well, insists that they take care of their family obligations first, and isn’t afraid to tell his players how much he cares.
It’s a proven formula. He’s certain it’ll work at FAU.
“I was here for the Boca Bowl in 2021,” he said. “The hospitality here was great. The town is unbelievable, 70 degrees in December. Beautiful. The stadium was immaculate. I remember thinking to myself when we were here, ‘Man, this would be a good gig.’ And then the chance came.”
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