Jon Kelly Kitna (born September 21, 1972) is an American football coach and former quarterback. After playing college football for Central Washington University, he signed with the Seattle Seahawks
Seattle Seahawks in 1996 and was allocated to the Barcelona Dragons
Barcelona Dragons of NFL Europe
NFL Europe in 1997. He led the Dragons to a World Bowl
World Bowl championship, and became the starting quarterback for the Seahawks in 1998 after spending the 1997 and most of the 1998 seasons as the backup to Warren Moon. Following a four-year stint with Seattle, Kitna signed with the Cincinnati Bengals in 2001. He played for the Bengals from 2001 to 2005 as their starting quarterback, and, later, the mentor to Carson Palmer. He was a member of the Detroit Lions
Detroit Lions from 2006 to 2008, and the Dallas Cowboys
Dallas Cowboys from 2009 to 2011.

Contents

1 Early years 2 Professional career

2.1 Seattle Seahawks

2.1.1 Barcelona Dragons

2.2 Cincinnati Bengals 2.3 Detroit Lions 2.4 Dallas
Dallas Cowboys

3 Coaching career 4 Personal life 5 Head coaching record

5.1 High school

6 See also 7 References 8 External links

Early years[edit] Kitna was born and raised in Tacoma, Washington, where he attended Concordia Lutheran School and Lincoln High School, lettering in football, basketball and baseball. He moved on to Central Washington University without an athletic scholarship and became a starter at quarterback as a freshman, beating out current California Offensive Coordinator Beau Baldwin before passing for 1,964 Yards. The next year, he posted 3,241 yards. As a junior, he registered 2,532 passing yards. In 1995, he tallied 4,616 passing yards on 364-of-576 completions (63.1%), 42 touchdowns and 14 interceptions, while leading the Wildcats to the NAIA Football National Championship.[1] He finished his college career with 43 games, 12,353 passing yards, 911-of-1,550 completions (58.8%), 99 touchdowns and 59 interceptions. In 2006, he was inducted into the Central Washington University Athletic Hall of Fame. In 2014, he was inducted into the Pacific Northwest Football Hall of Fame. Professional career[edit] Seattle Seahawks[edit] Believing that his football career was over after the NAIA championship, Kitna finished his math education degree at Central Washington[2] and began applying for high-school coaching jobs. Seattle Seahawks
Seattle Seahawks head coach Dennis Erickson visited the campus to give a tryout for his nephew, a receiver on the Central Washington team. Impressed by Kitna's strong passes, on April 25, the Seahawks signed him as an undrafted free agent to attend the 1996 training camp. He made the practice squad and was sent to NFL Europe
NFL Europe at the end of his rookie season.[1] Barcelona Dragons[edit] Kitna was named the MVP in NFL
NFL Europe's 1997 championship game, when he led the Barcelona Dragons
Barcelona Dragons to the World Bowl
World Bowl Championship (World Bowl V), winning 38–24 over the Rhein Fire.[3] He served as a backup to Warren Moon
Warren Moon in 1997 and most of 1998, until starting the final five games. Then, in 1999, he started 15 games for the Seahawks, leading them to a 9–7 record (Kitna going 8–7 in games started) and winning the AFC West, though Seattle would lose the wild card game to the Miami Dolphins. In 2000, Kitna opened the season with a four-interception performance against the Dolphins which opened the door for coach Mike Holmgren
Mike Holmgren to start Brock Huard. During that season, Kitna and Huard rotated as starting QBs due to injury and benchings. On November 5, down 15-14 on 3rd-and-16 with 1:28 left in the game, Kitna dodged a possible 17-yard sack by San Diego Chargers
San Diego Chargers defensive end Neil Smith and made an 18-yard pass to Darrell Jackson. This pass set up the game-winning field goal by Rian Lindell.[4] His last win for the Seahawks came on a rain-soaked Husky Stadium
Husky Stadium turf in December of that year, beating the AFC Championship Game-bound Oakland Raiders
Oakland Raiders on a TD pass to rookie Darrell Jackson
Darrell Jackson in the final minute of play.[5] Cincinnati Bengals[edit] On March 8, 2001, he signed as an unrestricted free agent with the Cincinnati Bengals.[6] He was named the starter. In 2003, Kitna played every offensive down, and was named the NFL Comeback Player of the Year after throwing for over 3,500 yards and 26 touchdown passes in leading the Bengals to a respectable 8–8 record, the team's first non-losing season since 1996. Kitna's secondary role with the team was to prepare young quarterback Carson Palmer
Carson Palmer (the Bengals' #1 draft pick in 2003). It was a role Kitna accepted gracefully. By 2004, Palmer was ready, leading the Bengals to another 8–8 season. Kitna was the backup for Palmer in that season. The two QB's developed a close friendship off the field, particularly because both men are avid golfers. He was unexpectedly thrust back behind center during the Bengals' AFC Wild Card Playoff game against the Pittsburgh Steelers
Pittsburgh Steelers on January 8, 2006. Palmer went down with a knee injury on his second play from scrimmage and Kitna stepped in off the bench and into a relief role. Kitna finished 24-40 for 197 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions and a fumble as the Bengals fell to the eventual Super Bowl XL champion Pittsburgh Steelers
Pittsburgh Steelers 31–17.[7] Detroit Lions[edit]

Kitna in 2007 with the Detroit Lions.

Kitna signed with the Detroit Lions
Detroit Lions as an unrestricted free agent on March 14, 2006.[8][9] In 2006, he registered 4,208 passing yards, 21 touchdowns and 22 interceptions. He also became the second quarterback in franchise history (after Scott Mitchell) to pass for 4,000 yards in one season. In 2007, the offense was ranked ninth in the league in passing, with Kitna throwing for 4,068 yards, 18 touchdowns and 20 interceptions. In 2008, he suffered a back injury in the fourth game of the season and was placed on the injured reserve list on October 14. The team ended the regular season with an 0–16 record and Kitna passed Charlie Batch for the eighth place on Detroit’s all-time passing list with 9,034 yards.[10] Kitna was traded to the Dallas Cowboys
Dallas Cowboys on February 28, 2009, in exchange for cornerback Anthony Henry. Dallas
Dallas Cowboys[edit] In 2009, the Dallas Cowboys
Dallas Cowboys acquired him to be Tony Romo's primary back-up, with rookie Stephen McGee
Stephen McGee as the third-string quarterback. He did not play a single down for the Cowboys in the 2009 season. Kitna remained idle until October 25, 2010, when Romo was placed on the injured reserve list, after suffering a broken clavicle.[11] Kitna ended up injuring himself on December 25, 2010, in a game against the Arizona Cardinals. Kitna played well in relief of Romo throwing for 2,365 yards, 16 touchdowns and 12 interceptions in the 9 games he started, compiling a 4-5 record and a career-high 88.9 passer rating in the process. He was replaced by third-stringer McGee in the season finale against the Eagles. The next year, he was limited to only 3 games because of a back injury and was placed on the injured reserve list On December 14. The injury forced him to announce his retirement from the NFL
NFL on January 12, 2012.[12] On December 24, 2013, Kitna was called out of retirement to serve as back-up quarterback to Kyle Orton
Kyle Orton for the Cowboys, following a back injury to Romo.[13] He donated his salary ($55,294 before taxes) from his 2013 signing with Dallas
Dallas for the final game to the Lincoln High School Booster Club.[14] Coaching career[edit] From 2012 to 2014, Kitna was a math teacher and head football coach at alma mater, Lincoln High School.[2] As coach he led the team to a 5–5 record in the 2012 season.[1] Lincoln improved to 8–2 in 2013[15] and 11–1 in 2014.[16] Lincoln shared the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association District 3A Narrows regular season championship in 2013, with a 5–1 conference record tied with Lacey Timberline.[17] In 2014, Lincoln went 7–0 in conference play and won the outright regular season championship.[18] In January 2015, he resigned from Lincoln and accepted the head coaching job at Waxahachie High School in Waxahachie, Texas, south of Dallas.[19] As of February 2018, Kitna is the new football coach for the all-male, Jesuit high school, Brophy College Preparatory
Brophy College Preparatory in Phoenix, AZ. [20] Personal life[edit] Kitna became a Christian while attending Central Washington University.[1] His parents, who had previously been non-religious, later became Christians as well.[21] Kitna has 4 children with his wife Jeni.[22] His son Jordan was the starting quarterback at Lincoln High for the 2014 season and threw for 55 touchdowns in an 11–1 season.[23] In 2016, Jordan joined the TCU Horned Frogs football
TCU Horned Frogs football team as a preferred walk-on and is the team's back-up quarterback as a freshman.[24] Head coaching record[edit] High school[edit]

Team Year Overall Postseason

Won Lost Ties Win % Finish Won Lost Win % Result

Tacoma (WA) Lincoln 2012 5 5 0 .500 4th in WA 3A Narrows 0 1 .000 Lost to Bellevue (WA) in 3A First Round.

Tacoma (WA) Lincoln 2013 8 2 0 .800 T-1st in WA 3A Narrows 0 1 .000 Lost to Sammamish (WA) Eastside Catholic in 3A First Round.

Tacoma (WA) Lincoln 2014 11 1 0 .917 1st in WA 3A Narrows 2 1 .667 Lost to Sammamish (WA) Eastside Catholic in 3A Quarterfinals.

Tacoma (WA) Lincoln Total 24 8 0 .750

2 3 .400

Waxahachie (TX) 2015 6 4 0 .600 5th out of 8 in TX 5A Region II District 14 0 0 .000 Did not qualify.

Waxahachie (TX) 2016 6 4 0 .600 5th out of 8 in TX 5A Region II District 14 0 0 .000 Did not qualify.

Waxahachie (TX) Total 12 8 0 .600

0 0 .000

Career Total 36 16 0 .692

2 3 .400

See also[edit]

List of NFL
NFL quarterbacks who have passed for 400 or more yards in a game

References[edit]

^ a b c d Carpenter, Les (2012-12-19). "Former NFL
NFL QB Jon Kitna
Jon Kitna finds 'gold mine' at his troubled old high school". Yahoo! Sports. Retrieved December 20, 2012.  ^ a b O'Neil, Danny (May 19, 2012). "Jon Kitna's greatest play: NFL
NFL QB to high-school math teacher". The Seattle Times.  ^ "A Star is Born". NFL.com. NFL
NFL Enterprises, LLC. Archived from the original on 27 December 2013. Retrieved 27 December 2013.  ^ Trotter, Jim. "Chargers beat Seahawks everywhere except where it matters, the scoreboard". San Diego Union-Tribune. Archived from the original on December 7, 2000.  ^ Purdy, Mark (December 17, 2000). "New Raiders revert to old Raiders form". San Jose Mercury News.  ^ "AROUND THE NFL; Bengals, Kitna Agree to Terms". March 9, 2001.  ^ Bell, Jarrett (January 9, 2006). "Steel hurtin': Steelers roll". USA Today.  ^ Detroit Lions
Detroit Lions All News ^ Jon Kitna, QB for the Dallas Cowboys
Dallas Cowboys at NFL.com ^ Jon Kitna
Jon Kitna News ^ "Giants rough up Romo, Cowboys to seize control of NFC East". Associated Press. 2010-10-26.  ^ "Former Cincinnati Bengal Jon Kitna
Jon Kitna Decides to Retire". Archived from the original on 2013-12-27.  ^ "Cowboys decide on... Jon Kitna
Jon Kitna to backup Kyle Orton".  ^ Archer, Todd. "Cowboys' Jon Kitna
Jon Kitna will give his game check to high school team". ESPN.com. ESPN Internet Ventures. Retrieved 27 December 2013.  ^ http://www.maxpreps.com/high-schools/lincoln-abes-%28tacoma,wa%29/football-fall-13/schedule.htm ^ http://www.maxpreps.com/high-schools/lincoln-abes-(tacoma,wa)/football-fall-14/schedule.htm ^ http://www.maxpreps.com/league/UfCxKmBTd0WqaBLVinVy9Q/standings-3a-narrows.htm ^ http://www.maxpreps.com/league/eRpFod5YdUCkyFhJsRbK4g/standings-3a-narrows.htm ^ Cotterill, TJ. " Jon Kitna
Jon Kitna resigns coaching, teaching job at Lincoln High to take job in Texas". Tacoma News-Tribune. Archived from the original on January 22, 2015. Retrieved January 22, 2015.  ^ https://www.azcentral.com/story/sports/high-school/2018/02/14/ex-nfl-qb-jon-kitna-phoenix-brophy-prep-coach/339014002/ ^ The Increase Stories (April 3, 2013). Jon Kitna
Jon Kitna - My Story. YouTube. Retrieved June 12, 2015.  ^ Cox, Allen. "Casual Comfort - South Sound Magazine". South Sound Magazine. Premier Media Group. Retrieved 25 December 2013.  ^ http://www.maxpreps.com/athlete/jordan-kitna/FQMwJvTwEeKZ5AAmVebBJg/gendersport/football-stats.htm ^ " TCU Horned Frogs football
TCU Horned Frogs football roster". Retrieved September 10, 2016. 

External links[edit]

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Jon Kitna

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Jon Kitna.

Dallas Cowboys
Dallas Cowboys bio FootballDB.com NFL
NFL and NFL Europe
NFL Europe stats for Kitna

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Barcelona Dragons
Barcelona Dragons starting quarterbacks

Scott Erney (1991–1992) Tony Rice (1991–1992) Jay Walker (1995) Kelly Holcomb (1996) Jon Kitna
Jon Kitna (1997) James Ritchey (1998) Todd Bouman
Todd Bouman (1999) Tony Graziani (2000) Cory Sauter (2000) Jarious Jackson
Jarious Jackson (2001) Joe Germaine (2002) Ted White (2002) Seth Burford (2003)

v t e

Seattle Seahawks
Seattle Seahawks starting quarterbacks

Jim Zorn
Jim Zorn (1976–1983) Steve Myer (1977) Dave Krieg (1981–1991) Gale Gilbert (1986) Bruce Mathison (1987) Jeff Kemp (1987–1988, 1991) Kelly Stouffer (1988–1989, 1991–1992) Stan Gelbaugh (1992, 1996) Dan McGwire (1991–1992, 1994) Rick Mirer (1993–1996) John Friesz (1995–1998) Warren Moon
Warren Moon (1997–1998) Jon Kitna
Jon Kitna (1997–2000) Glenn Foley (1999) Brock Huard (2000) Matt Hasselbeck
Matt Hasselbeck (2001–2010) Trent Dilfer
Trent Dilfer (2001–2002, 2004) Seneca Wallace
Seneca Wallace (2006, 2008–2009) Charlie Frye
Charlie Frye (2008) Charlie Whitehurst
Charlie Whitehurst (2010–2011) Tarvaris Jackson
Tarvaris Jackson (2011) Russell Wilson
Russell Wilson (2012–present)

v t e

Cincinnati Bengals
Cincinnati Bengals starting quarterbacks

Dewey Warren (1968) John Stofa (1968) Sam Wyche (1968–1970) Greg Cook (1969) Virgil Carter (1970–1972) Ken Anderson (1971–1985) Wayne Clark (1974) John Reaves (1975, 1977–1978) Jack Thompson (1979–1980) Turk Schonert (1983–1984, 1989) Boomer Esiason
Boomer Esiason (1984–1992, 1997) Adrian Breen (1987) Dave Walter (1987) Erik Wilhelm (1991) Donald Hollas (1991) David Klingler (1992–1994) Jay Schroeder
Jay Schroeder (1993) Jeff Blake (1994–1999) Neil O'Donnell (1998) Paul Justin (1998) Akili Smith
Akili Smith (1999–2002) Scott Mitchell (2000) Jon Kitna
Jon Kitna (2001–2004) Gus Frerotte
Gus Frerotte (2002) Carson Palmer
Carson Palmer (2004–2010) Ryan Fitzpatrick
Ryan Fitzpatrick (2008) Andy Dalton
Andy Dalton (2011–present) AJ McCarron
AJ McCarron (2015)

v t e

Portsmouth Spartans / Detroit Lions
Detroit Lions starting quarterbacks

Chuck Bennett (1930) Glenn Presnell
Glenn Presnell (1931–1933) Dutch Clark
Dutch Clark (1932–1937) Vern Huffman
Vern Huffman (1938) Dwight Sloan (1939) Byron White
Byron White (1940–1941) Harry Hopp (1942) Frank Sinkwich
Frank Sinkwich (1943–1944) Chuck Fenenbock (1945) Dave Ryan (1946) Clyde LeForce (1947–1949) Fred Enke (1948–1949) Frank Tripucka
Frank Tripucka (1949) Bobby Layne
Bobby Layne (1950–1958) Jim Hardy
Jim Hardy (1952) Tom Dublinski (1953–1954) Harry Gilmer
Harry Gilmer (1955) Tobin Rote
Tobin Rote (1957–1959) Earl Morrall
Earl Morrall (1959–1961, 1963–1964) Jim Ninowski (1960–1961) Milt Plum (1962–1967) George Izo (1965) Karl Sweetan (1966–1967) Bill Munson (1968–1970, 1973–1975) Greg Landry (1968–1978) Joe Reed (1975–1977, 1979) Gary Danielson
Gary Danielson (1977–1978, 1980–1982, 1984) Jeff Komlo (1979, 1981) Eric Hipple
Eric Hipple (1981–1986, 1989) John Witkowski (1984) Joe Ferguson (1985–1986) Chuck Long (1986–1988) Todd Hons (1987) Rusty Hilger (1988) Bob Gagliano (1989–1990) Rodney Peete
Rodney Peete (1989–1993) Andre Ware
Andre Ware (1990, 1992–1993) Erik Kramer (1991–1993) Dave Krieg (1994) Scott Mitchell (1994–1998) Don Majkowski
Don Majkowski (1996) Charlie Batch
Charlie Batch (1998–2001) Frank Reich (1998) Gus Frerotte
Gus Frerotte (1999) Stoney Case (2000) Ty Detmer
Ty Detmer (2001) Mike McMahon (2001–2002) Joey Harrington (2002–2005) Jeff Garcia
Jeff Garcia (2005) Jon Kitna
Jon Kitna (2006–2008) Dan Orlovsky
Dan Orlovsky (2008) Daunte Culpepper
Daunte Culpepper (2008–2009) Matthew Stafford
Matthew Stafford (2009–present) Drew Stanton
Drew Stanton (2009–2010) Shaun Hill
Shaun Hill (2010)

v t e

Dallas Cowboys
Dallas Cowboys starting quarterbacks

Eddie LeBaron
Eddie LeBaron (1960–1963) Don Meredith
Don Meredith (1960–1968) Don Heinrich
Don Heinrich (1960) John Roach (1964) Jerry Rhome (1965–1966) Craig Morton (1965, 1967–1972) Roger Staubach
Roger Staubach (1969–1971, 1973–1979) Clint Longley (1975) Danny White (1978, 1980–1987) Glenn Carano (1981) Gary Hogeboom (1984–1985) Steve Pelluer (1986–1988) Reggie Collier (1986) Kevin Sweeney (1987–1988) Troy Aikman
Troy Aikman (1989–2000) Steve Walsh (1989) Babe Laufenberg
Babe Laufenberg (1990) Steve Beuerlein (1991) Bernie Kosar
Bernie Kosar (1993) Jason Garrett
Jason Garrett (1993–1994, 1998–1999) Rodney Peete
Rodney Peete (1994) Wade Wilson (1996) Randall Cunningham (2000) Anthony Wright (2000–2001) Quincy Carter (2001–2003) Ryan Leaf (2001) Clint Stoerner (2001) Chad Hutchinson (2002) Vinny Testaverde
Vinny Testaverde (2004) Drew Henson
Drew Henson (2004) Drew Bledsoe
Drew Bledsoe (2005–2006) Tony Romo
Tony Romo (2006–2015) Brad Johnson (2008) Jon Kitna
Jon Kitna (2010) Stephen McGee
Stephen McGee (2010) Kyle Orton
Kyle Orton (2013) Brandon Weeden
Brandon Weeden (2014–2015) Matt Cassel
Matt Cassel (2015) Kellen Moore
Kellen Moore (2015) Dak Prescott
Dak Prescott (2016–present)

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Associated Press
Associated Press NFL Comeback Player of the Year Award winners

1963: Martin 1964: Moore 1965: Brodie 1966: Bass 1967-1997: No award given 1998: Flutie 1999: Young 2000: Johnson 2001: Hearst 2002: Maddox 2003: Kitna 2004: Brees 2005: Bruschi & Smith 2006: Pennington 2007: Ellis 2008: Pennington 2009: Brady 2010: Vick 2011: Stafford 2012: Manning 2013: Rivers 2014: Gronkowski 2015: Berry 2016: Nelson 2017: Allen

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PFW/PFWA NFL Comeback Player of the Year Award

1972: Morrall 1973: Gabriel 1974: Namath 1975: Hampton 1976: Landry 1977: Morton 1978: Riggins 1979: Csonka 1980: Plunkett 1981: Anderson 1982: Alzado 1983: B. Johnson 1984: Stallworth 1985: No Selection 1986: Montana & Kramer 1987: White 1988: Bell 1989: Anderson 1990: Word 1991: McMahon 1992: Cunningham 1993: Allen 1994: Marino 1995: Harbaugh 1996: Bettis 1997: Brooks 1998: Flutie 1999: Young 2000: J. Johnson 2001: Hearst 2002: Maddox 2003: Kitna 2004: McGahee 2005: Smith 2006: Pennington 2007: Moss 2008: Pennington 2009: Brady 2010: Vick 2011: Stafford 2012: Peterson 2013: Rivers 2014: Gronkowski 2015: Berry 2016: