Florida Atlantic has hired Texas Tech offensive coordinator Zach Kittley as its next head coach. The school officially announced the hiring on Monday.
Kittley replaces Tom Herman, who was fired this season with two games remaining after posting a 6-16 record in two years. Herman finished 2-8 this year before being fired. Associate head coach and special teams coordinator Chad Lunsford coached the final two games of the season for the Owls.
At 33, Kittley becomes the youngest head coach at FBS. This season, Texas Tech’s offense was the 10th best in the country, averaging 459.8 yards per game. The Red Raiders ranked No. 9 among FBS teams with an average of 298.1 passing yards per game.
Kittley began his coaching career at Texas Tech as a student assistant and then graduate assistant under then-head coach Kliff Kingsbury with Patrick Mahomes at quarterback. His first job as an offensive coordinator and QB coach was at Houston Baptist before taking on the same role at Western Kentucky.
During his lone season with the Hilltoppers in 2021, Kittley’s offense ranked second in the nation and QB Bailey Zappe set an FBS record with 5,967 yards passing and 62 TD passes.
From there, Kittley returned to Texas Tech to serve as the offensive coordinator for the past three seasons under head coach Joey McGuire.
“After an extensive search with tremendous interest from candidates across the country, Zach emerged as the ideal choice to become our next head coach,” FAU athletic director Brian White said in a statement.
“He is a man of high integrity and character, with an incredible reputation in the player development profession,” White added. “Zach is one of the most innovative offensive minds in the sport and I am confident in his ability to build a championship program with an exciting brand of football that can be a source of pride for our fans, our alumni and the FAU community .
Florida Atlantic has posted four straight losing seasons. During Lane Kiffin’s three seasons as head coach, the Owls finished with 11-3 records twice, which certainly raised the bar for expectations for the football program.
