“Welcome to paradise, Coach Kittley.”

Those were the five words FAU football’s newest head coach, Zach Kittley, kept hearing after the university announced his new role on Dec. 3.

On Dec. 6, at his inaugural press conference at the Schmidt Complex Owls Perch, a teary-eyed Kittley spoke in front of his family, former FAU players, school administrators, and media members. He explained what led him from Texas Tech University, where he served as an offensive coordinator, to Boca Raton while thanking the people who helped him along the way.

“I’m gonna apologize in advance if I get a little emotional up here,” stated Kittley. “I’m extremely passionate about being a football coach and being able to lead young men.”

The university released former head coach Tom Herman on Nov. 18. When Brian White, the director of FAU Athletics, reached out to Kittley about the position, Kittley was not at all hesitant about accepting the offer; both him and White could not wait to make the news official.

“As Brian mentioned, this has been a place that’s always caught my eye, and I’ve respected it from afar for many years,” said Kittley. “There’s been a lot of success and many championships won here, and I know that’s something we can do together here as well.”

While Texas Tech was not Kittley’s only notable school in his coaching career, Kittley made significant contributions at Houston Baptist (now known as Houston Christian) University (2018-2020) and Western Kentucky University (2021). Kittley served as a graduate assistant at Texas Tech from 2013-2017 before returning to his alma mater in 2021 and becoming their offensive coordinator.

“Everybody we spoke to that has ever worked with him raves about him as a human being, on top of being a great football coach, great offensive mind, and all those things you can see when you google him,” said White.

Kittley has had the privilege of coaching three-time Super Bowl Most Valuable Player and current Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes and Cleveland Browns quarterback Bailey Zappe. Mahomes put out a statement the day after Kittley signed with FAU praising his coaching abilities and stating, “You got yourself a good one down there in Boca Raton!”

Although Coach Kittley is just 33 years old, making him the youngest head coach in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), he has plenty of accolades and experience under his belt that makes him more than qualified to lead a brand-new FAU squad to success.

As a full-time offensive coordinator for seven seasons, Kittley’s teams have averaged 457.3 yards and 34.8 points per game. Kittley led the FBS in passing offense, ranking second in total offense and second in scoring offense in 2021 at Western Kentucky.

“For him to be 26 years old and go call an offense at Houston Baptist, and all of a sudden, that’s one of the best offenses in college football, and I go on to Western Kentucky, one of the best offenses in the history of college football, that’s pretty darn impressive,” said White.

Kittley continued to express his gratitude and appreciation to his family and coaches who helped inspire him to become the person he is today and how their guidance was able to, ironically, coach him. 

“My dad is the greatest coach that I’ve ever been around. It’s not just because he’s a champion; it is because he has always done it the right way,” said Kittley. “He’s a man of integrity; he has never done anything to advance his career in ways that would not be compliant, and he is the best human being I’ve ever met.”

Within his first three days in Boca Raton, Kittley took the time and opportunity to sit down with FAU’s current football roster and speak to them as a group. 

“I took this job because of the players; they are the most important part of this football program. Our young men within this program are men of integrity. They will be the heartbeat of this program,” said Kittley.

Aside from the sentimental statements, Kittley made it very clear that he would be implementing strict and promising new offensive strategies for FAU – one of which is known as an “air-raid offense.”

“I’m about to bring exciting offense back to FAU,” he said. “It’s going to be a lot of excitement. We’ll light up the scoreboard; many air-raid things are happening here.”

Kittley emphasizes that his new offensive strategies will pose challenges for future matchups against the Owls, while their defense will be equally as intimidating.

“We’re going to hit you in the mouth on defense, and we’re going to fly around. We will hit the quarterback and take the ball away; that will be the memo,” said Kittley. “You’re going to be able to tell the kind of culture we have you here about watching our defensive guys fly around the field, swarm the football, and have 11 guys attacking that football in every single play.”

Going into a new season, Kittley encourages students and fans to show some school spirit and attend football games.

“We want all the Florida Atlantic community, all those watching, to be involved in what we’re trying to do here. You all are going to be a key part of the success that our fans will enjoy watching; we want FAU to be one of the toughest places to play every Saturday night,” said Kittley.

Kittley closed his press conference by expressing his gratitude to FAU’s welcoming fans and staff. He said he can already tell just how much everyone wants the Owls to succeed, which will help “build this program up to where I know it’s going to go.”

“The support my players, family, and staff already received brings me so much joy. We are ready to build a program that makes you proud and continues the tradition of winning in paradise.”

Angelina Martell is a staff sportswriter with the University Press. Email her at amartell2023@fau.edu or reach out on Instagram @angieemartell for information regarding this or other stories.