When Cowboys owner Jerry Jones brought in a new coaching staff last January, the team’s outgoing quarterbacks coach Jon Kitna did not have to travel far for his next job.
Kitna, 47, was named Athletic Coordinator & Head Coach at Burleson High School located outside Ft. Worth. It’s not as unusual a career change as it might appear.
Kitna played quarterback for four teams during a 16-year NFL career (1997-2011, 2013). After his playing career, he began coaching at his alma mater Lincoln High School in his hometown of Tacoma, Washington.
He moved his young family to Texas in 2015 and continued coaching on the high school level in Waxahachie. In 2018, he took another high school coaching position in Phoenix before then-head coach Jason Garrett recruited him to the Cowboys to work with Zak Prescott last season. Garrett now is the Giants offensive coordinator and Kitna has resumed his high school head coaching career.
“I can’t think of a better environment for a young man than to play high school ball in a program run by Jon”, says Garrett. “He has brought out the best in those around him at every level he has coached. The significant impact he will have on his student-athletes at Burleson will be felt for the rest of their lives.”
Kitna’s return to high school coaching will be an opportunity to work on the field with his two teenage sons. QB Jalen will be a senior at Burleson this fall and already has been recruited by colleges from Oregon State to Yale. J.T. is a younger 14-year old son who also will enroll and play at the school.
“One of the things I missed last year with the Cowboys was coaching Jalen,” says the elder Kitna, “but I am super excited about being able to finish coaching him this fall and then J.T. who’s coming up behind him.”
We at NFL Alumni wish the entire Kitna family (including mom Jennifer) much success and good health in their exciting new environment. |
