Florida Atlantic University’s football announced on their Instagram on Monday night that FAU football head coach Zach Kittley has picked his coaching staff for the 2025-26 season. 

“I am thrilled to welcome Antonio and Brandon to the FAU family,” said Kittley in a press release on Monday. “Antonio was born and raised in Boca Raton and brings an impressive coaching resume back to his hometown Owls. Brandon also possesses a strong track record of developing talent for the next level. I’m fired up to get started with them and the rest of our talented staff.”

After being hired as FAU’s newest head football coach on Dec. 2, 2024, Kittley has been hard at work finalizing his new roster of players and staff in hopes of leading the Owls to a successful season. 

Kittley’s offensive staff consists of three new members: 

DJ McCarthy: McCarthy returns to FAU for a third time as the Owls’ wide receivers coach. Before signing with Kittley in Dec. 2024, McCarthy returned to FAU in 2019 after a season as an assistant coach in the Canadian Football League (CFL), previously serving as FAU’s director of player development in 2017. 

A coaching veteran with 16 years of experience, McCarthy has mentored 11 NFL receivers, including Bethune-Cookman’s K.J. Stroud, who played with the New York Jets. 

Stephen Hamby: Hamby joined FAU’s football staff in Dec. 2024 as the Owls’ offensive line coach. Hamby has also worked alongside Kittley at Texas Tech and Western Kentucky. 

Hamby served as Texas Tech’s offensive line coach for the 2023 and 2024 seasons, returning to a program where he served as a graduate assistant from 2013-2015. In his first season back, he guided a steadily improving offensive line that protected an offense averaging 34.2 points and 461.4 yards per game.

Jujuan Dulaney: Dulaney joined FAU’s football staff in Dec. 2024 as the Owls’ tight ends coach after coaching at the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) and Austin Peay, where he contributed to a championship season and mentored standout tight ends. 

His previous roles include positions at the University of Houston, where he helped develop top-ranked offensive linemen, and the University of Texas, where he contributed to recruiting the nation’s top offensive line class. A former offensive lineman at the University of Maryland, he began his coaching career at Texas Tech, focusing on offensive quality control and contributing to a nationally ranked passing offense.

Kittley’s defensive staff consists of six new members: 

Brett Dewhurst: Dewhurst joined FAU’s football staff in Dec. 2024 as the Owls’ defensive coordinator after serving as a defensive analyst at Coastal Carolina, where five defenders earned All-Sun Belt honors under his guidance.Dewhurst previously served as Mississippi State University’s safeties coach and Texas State University’s defensive backs coach. 

A former Texas Tech defensive back with 103 career tackles, Dewhurst has also held coaching roles at Texas Tech, Houston, and Southeast Louisiana, contributing to nationally ranked defenses and bowl appearances.

Aaron Schwanz: Schwanz joined Kittley’s inaugural staff in Dec. 2024 as the team’s inside linebackers, corners, and edges coach.Schwanz coached three seasons at Georgia Southern University as their linebackers coach. He, too, served as a defensive analyst at the University of Washington and Louisiana State University (LSU), contributing to a national championship in 2019 and a top-ranked defense at Washington. 

His career includes roles at Wisconsin, Southeastern Louisiana, and Midwestern State, where he coached multiple all-conference players and contributed to championship defenses.

Devin Santana: Santana joined FAU’s football staff in Dec. 2024 as the Owls’ defensive tackle’s coach.Santana served as the University of Miami’s assistant defensive line coach during their impressive 2024 season and previously coached the defensive line at UT Martin and Auburn, mentoring NFL Draft pick Colby Wooden. 

He also held roles at App State, where he guided four all-conference selections, and at IMG Academy as a linebacker coach and defensive coordinator. Santana’s coaching journey began as a defensive assistant at Alabama State, where he was a standout player with 33 tackles and 5.5 tackles for loss in his junior season.

Brandon Lacy: Lacy was recently appointed in Jan. 2025 to become the Owls’ rush and ends coach.Lacy has an extensive coaching background bringing 22 years of coaching experience from roles at Western Michigan, Southern Miss, Richmond, and Southeast Louisiana, among others. At Southern Miss, his defensive line consistently ranked among the top in tackles for loss and sacks.

Lacy’s previous coaching tenures include successes at Rice, Angelo State, and Appalachian State, where he helped develop record-setting players and contributed to national rankings in defensive categories.

Antonio Fenelus: Fenelus was recently appointed in Jan. 2025 to become the Owls’ cornerbacks coach. Fenelus served as Illinois’ defensive backs coach in 2023, reuniting with head coach Bret Bielema and defensive coordinator Aaron Henry. He previously worked as a defensive analyst at LSU, defensive coordinator at East Central University, and began his coaching career at the University of Wisconsin as a graduate assistant. 

A standout player at Wisconsin, he earned multiple All-Big Ten honors, contributed to two Big Ten titles, and had stints with the Indianapolis Colts, CFL, and AFL.

Tyler Schovanec: Schovanec joined FAU’s football staff in Dec.  2024 as the Owls’ special teams coordinator. Schovanec’s coaching career includes two stints at Texas Tech, where he served as assistant special teams coordinator, leading the Red Raiders to multiple top national rankings in special teams categories. 

Schovanec coached standout players such as kickers Trey Wolff and Gino Garcia, who set school records and earned All-Big 12 honors, as well as punter Austin McNamara, who became the most successful punter in Texas Tech history.  He also held coaching roles at Houston Christian and Case Western, mentoring record-breaking athletes and contributing to award-winning coaching staffs. 

Angelina Martell is the Sports Reporter for the University Press. Email her at amartell2023@fau.edu or contact her on Instagram @angieemartell for information regarding this or other stories.