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Brophy Announces New Head Football Coach, Jon Kitna

2/15/2018

Brophy's New Head Football Coach, Jon Kitna

PHOENIX – February 15, 2018 – Brophy College Preparatory has named former NFL quarterback Jon Kitna as its next head football coach. Kitna replaces Scooter Molander, who resigned in November 2017 after 13 years leading the varsity program.

Kitna brings to Brophy an extensive football and coaching background. Kitna received a Bachelor of Arts in math education from Central Washington University, where he started four years at quarterback and earned All-American honors. During his NFL career, Kitna played for the Seattle Seahawks, the Cincinnati Bengals, the Detroit Lions, and the Dallas Cowboys. While with the Bengals, Kitna served as team captain and started as quarterback for three seasons, winning the NFL Comeback Player of the Year Award in 2003. In an Arizona connection, he mentored recently-retired Cardinal quarterback Carson Palmer during Palmer’s rookie season with the Bengals.

In 2011, after three seasons with the Cowboys, Kitna retired from the NFL and returned to his hometown of Tacoma, Washington, where he was named the head football coach at Lincoln High School, his alma mater. In his three years at Lincoln High, where he also taught math, Kitna led his team to victories in the 2013 and 2014 District Championship game and compiled a 25-7 record. In 2015, Kitna assumed the head coaching position at Waxahachie High School in Waxahachie, Texas. In one of the toughest 5A districts in Texas, Kitna guided Waxahachie from two straight losing seasons to a 20-13 record overall.

In addition to his exemplary football pedigree, Kitna brings a sincere commitment to the values that distinguish Brophy as a Catholic, Jesuit school. As a coach, he has not only led his teams to improved performance on the field but he has also challenged his players to higher achievement in the classroom. He has repeatedly declined offers to coach at the collegiate and professional levels because he is committed to the holistic formation of young men. Finally, he is a man of deep faith and is sought after nationally to speak about leadership formation and Christian discipleship.

Kitna will begin work with the football program this spring and will join the Brophy faculty to teach in the Mathematics and Physical Education departments in August. Kitna’s family includes his wife, Jennifer, and children, Jordan (20), Jada (19), Jalen (14) and Jamison (12). Kitna comments, “I want to thank the leadership team at Brophy for the opportunity to join them in the mission of forming young men and leaders in my role as the head football coach. I look forward to working with the administration, faculty, fellow coaches and parents as we aim to build a football program that can be a model of consistency, character and competitiveness.”

Brophy Principal Bob Ryan, in making the announcement, said, “After an extensive search process, I am excited to welcome Jon Kitna and his family to the Brophy College Preparatory community. Throughout this process, we have sought not only a qualified and dynamic football coach but someone who shares our vision for the overall formation of our students. Jon Kitna shares this vision and I look forward to the impact he will have as a faculty member and as our head coach, positively influencing the lives of his students and players. Lastly I would once again like to thank and congratulate Coach Scooter Molander for his 13 years of dedicated service to Brophy’s football program.”