When Zach Kittley first met with Florida Atlantic President Stacy Volnick, he described himself as having a laid-back personality.
Volnick disagrees. That’s why Kittley is the new coach of the Owls.
FAU introduced Kittley on Friday, four days after he accepted the job to rebuild a program that once thrived under Lane Kiffin, with two 11-win seasons in a three-year span, but has struggled in the five years since.
“When I met Zach, I knew he would be a good fit for 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.”
FAU gave Kittley a five-year contract to rebuild the program, which finished 3-9 this season and 1-7 in the American Athletic Conference. According to FAU athletic director Brian White, Kittley was the top choice throughout the search.
“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 past three seasons. Although he’s only 33, he was involved in the development of Super Bowl champion quarterback Patrick Mahomes at Texas Tech before Mahomes moved 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 replaces Tom Herman, who was fired two weeks ago with two games left in his second season at the school. Kittley had previous roles as offensive coordinator at Houston Baptist and Western Kentucky before returning to Texas Tech — his alma mater — in 2022 as offensive coordinator. Under Kittley, the Red Raiders averaged 435 yards per game over the last three seasons, ranking 22nd 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, Texas Tech ranked among the top offenses in the nation: 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.”
