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© 2025 COLD WIRE MEDIA. THE COLD WIRE IS A REGISTERED TRADEMARK OF COLD WIRE MEDIA. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. USE OF THIS SITE CONSTITUTES ACCEPTANCE OF OUR TERMS OF USE AND PRIVACY POLICY

Monday, April 27, 2026

The Life And Career Of Jon Kitna

Ben Donahue
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The Life And Career Of Jon Kitna
(Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)

 

Jon Kitna was hands down one of the best quarterbacks in NAIA history.

However, after setting records at Central Washington University, it looked like his playing days were over once he graduated.

Kitna was applying for high school coaching jobs when fate intervened.

The coaching staff of the Seattle Seahawks came to CWU in the spring of 1996 to work out a teammate of Kitna’s.

Kitna himself lent a hand by throwing passes to the prospect.

He did such a good job that the Seahawks signed Kitna as an undrafted free agent.

After spending his rookie year on Seattle’s practice squad, Kitna spent the next 15 years as an NFL quarterback.

Along the way, he became the full-time starter for four different teams and passed for over 4,000 yards in two consecutive seasons.

Once his career ended, Kitna finally realized his dream of becoming a high school football coach.

This is the story of Jon Kitna.

 

Growing Up in Washington 

Jon Kelly Kitna was born on September 21, 1972, in Tacoma, Washington.

He was enthralled with sports growing up in the Pacific Northwest and gravitated toward football.

Kitna began his prep career at Concordia Lutheran School and then transferred to Lincoln High School after his freshman year.

Playing sports for the Abes brought Kitna a tremendous amount of success as he lettered in football as well as basketball and baseball.

As talented as he was at Lincoln, Kitna didn’t get any love from the local schools and he decided to attend Central Washington University in Ellensburg, Washington.

His immediate dream by attending CWU was not to play sports, but to major in mathematics and get his teaching degree.

However, that dream would take a small detour.

 

Walk-on to Starter

Just for the fun of it, Kitna decided to try walking on to the Wildcats football team as a quarterback.

At the time, Beau Baldwin was the starting quarterback and Kitna was a long shot as a true freshman.

Despite being the young buck, Kitna eventually outshined Baldwin and took over under center before the 1992 season.

That year, he passed for 1,964 yards while the Wildcats finished the regular season 6-3.

Kitna worked out the kinks as a sophomore in 1993 and crushed opponents for 3,241 yards.

During a contest on October 16 against Pacific Lutheran, the quarterback picked apart the Lutes’ defense for six touchdowns on the way to a tight, 49-48 loss.

Then, in the NAIA playoffs, CWU beat Linfield in the first round before falling, again, at the hands of the Lutes.

Both Kitna and the Wildcats had a difficult 1994 season with the QB passing for 2,532 yards, 22 touchdowns, and 18 picks while CWU went 5-4.

 

Huge Senior Year

Heading into his senior year, Kitna wanted to go out on a high note.

While playing at CWU, he had turned his life around from a hard-partying jock to a born-again Christian.

The change in his lifestyle reflected a change on the field.

An opening-week loss to Montana State University led to a 7-3 regular season record.

CWU and Kitna advanced to the playoffs and got hot at just the right time.

After beating Western Washington, Hardin-Simmons, and the University of Mary in the first three rounds, the Wildcats took on the Findlay University Oilers in the NAIA title game.

At one point during the game, CWU was down by two touchdowns, but Kitna helped to erase the deficit.

“We had to make adjustments. They were just pinning their ears back and coming at us,” said Kitna.

By the end of regulation, the score was tied at 21-all and Kitna had passed for 286 yards and three touchdowns.

Unfortunately, the game ended in a tie as Central kicker, Marty Greenlee, missed a potential 40-yard winning field goal with six seconds remaining.

NAIA Division II did not play overtime games then, so the championship title was shared by both teams, which didn’t sit well with either team.

“We’re co-champs. . . . We’ve never been co-champs, and yet we’re feeling kind of bad,” Central Coach Jeff Zenisek said.

Kitna wrapped his final college season with then-program records of 4,616 yards and 42 touchdowns.

In addition to his third consecutive All-Columbia Football Association Mount Rainier League nod, the quarterback was also named a first-team NAIA All-American.

His totals at CWU were 12,353 yards, 99 touchdowns, and 59 interceptions.

Kitna’s 12,907 total offensive yards in his career set an NAIA record.

Years later, he would be inducted into the CWU Athletic Hall of Fame in 2006 before his induction into the Pacific Northwest Football Hall of Fame in 2014.

 

Kitna Gets an NFL Opportunity

flag with the NFL logo waving

 

Kitna wasn’t delusional about what came next.

He had set school and NAIA records while at Central, but it’s not like the NFL cared.

After all, it’s the NAIA, big numbers are supposed to happen since the talent is far inferior to the larger athletic conferences (or so the thinking goes).

Once his college career ended, Kitna continued taking classes toward his degree and applied for high school teaching and coaching positions.

In the spring of 1996, Dennis Erickson, then the head coach of the Seattle Seahawks, came to town to work out his nephew, Jamie Christian, a receiver at CWU.

Kitna was still on campus taking classes and offered to throw passes to Christian.

By the end of the session, Coach Erickson was impressed at the strength and accuracy of Kitna’s arm and invited him to the Seahawks training camp.

Seattle already had Rick Mirer as the starter and Kitna was a long shot.

Still, he made the team and spent the entire ‘96 season on the practice squad.

 

Kitna Sets the WLAF on Fire

Before the 1997 season, the Seahawks traded Mirer and brought in former Houston Oilers great Warren Moon.

Then, Erickson sent Kitna to the World League of American Football’s Barcelona Dragons to get some pro experience.

Kitna didn’t disappoint.

That season, the former small-school quarterback set the WLAF on fire.

He led the league with 171 completions on 317 attempts for 2,448 yards and 22 touchdowns.

Kitna also led the WLAF in rushing yards for a quarterback after dashing for 334 yards and three scores.

The Dragons began the season 4-1, dropped four straight, then won its final regular season contest against the Scottish Claymores to finish 5-5.

Somehow, Barcelona qualified for the World Bowl and defeated the Rhein Fire, 38-24, for the championship.

Kitna was voted the game’s MVP after setting another league record with 401 passing yards while throwing two touchdowns and one pick.

His numbers led to a runner-up nod as the WLAF MVP for 1997.

When he returned to Seattle, Kitna sat on the bench behind Moon and second-stringer John Friesz.

He got one start and finished his second NFL season with 371 yards, one touchdown, and two interceptions.

 

More Playing Time

Jon Kitna #7 of the Seattle Seahawks gets ready to pass
Mandatory Credit: Doug Pensinger /Allsport

 

In 1998, Kitna was still the Seahawk’s third-string signal caller yet worked his way to five starts.

During his first start of the year, Kitna led a comeback win against the Tennessee Oilers in Week 13 and was named the AFC’s Offensive Player of the Week.

Kitna had a 3-2 record in his starts and posted 1,177 yards, seven touchdowns and eight interceptions for the year.

Then, in 1999, Moon and Friesz were gone and Kitna became the feel-good story of the year.

Fans watched in amazement as the once mighty NAIA star became Seattle’s starter for 15 games.

While he was passing for 3,346 yards, 23 touchdowns, and 16 interceptions, the Seahawks, under new coach Mike Holmgren, went 9-7 and lost to the Miami Dolphins in the wild-card round.

Months later, Holmgren was worried that Kitna’s bad performance in training camp and the preseason would doom the team.

The coach attempted to trade Kitna to Green Bay in exchange for Matt Hasselbeck but the deal fell through.

Kitna then started Week 1 against Miami and promptly threw four interceptions.

That led to a quarterback revolving door of Kitna and second-year player Brock Huard.

Injuries to Huard led to 12 starts for Kitna, who had 2,658 yards, 18 touchdowns, and 19 interceptions for the season.

 

Trade to Cincy

Cincinnati Bengals QB Jon Kitna scrambles upfield looking for a first-quarter pass
(Photo by Al Messerschmidt/Getty Images)

 

After the 2000 season ended, Holmgren finally got his man in Hasselbeck and Kitna signed as a free agent with the Cincinnati Bengals.

Cincy wanted depth behind starter Akili Smith and Holmgren wished his former quarterback nothing but the best.

“Jon is a great person. He’ll have a great relationship with Akili Smith. That’s not going to be a problem,” Holmgren said. “He’s a team guy.”

By the end of training camp in 2001, Kitna rose to the starting spot over Smith and veteran Scott Mitchell.

He helped the Bengals win their first two games and became the first Cincy quarterback since Greg Cook in 1969 to win his first two starts with the club.

The Bengals reached their bye week with a 4-3 record and an eye on the postseason.

However, when the team returned from their break, they lost seven in a row.

In Week 16, Pittsburgh was in town to add to the Bengals’ woes.

Kitna had other ideas.

Passing a team-record 68 times (third highest in NFL history), Kitna threw for 411 yards, made the game-tying touchdown throw, and helped the Bengals win in overtime, 23-20.

Kitna’s first-year totals with the Bengals included a league-high 581 attempts, 3,216 yards, 12 touchdowns, and 22 picks.

 

Comeback Player of the Year

Quarterback Jon Kitna #3 of the Cincinnati Bengals calls out an audible
(Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)

 

Head coach Dick LeBeau’s second year at the helm of Cincinnati was awful.

The Bengals won only two games in 2002 while Kitna started 12 times for 3,178 yards, 16 touchdowns, and 16 interceptions.

After the season, LeBeau was fired and Cincy hired former Baltimore and Washington defensive coordinator, Marvin Lewis.

Cincinnati then selected USC quarterback Carson Palmer in the first round and had him sit on the bench to learn from Kitna.

For his part, Kitna played his role perfectly.

Although the Bengals began the year 1-4, Kitna never lost his cool, and slowly, but surely, Cincy began to claw back after the bye week.

In Week 11, the undefeated Kansas City Chiefs headed to Cincinnati, and Bengals receiver Chad Johnson predicted a win.

Kitna and company backed up their teammate as the quarterback’s 233 yards and two touchdowns helped the Bengals to an upset, 24-19, victory.

“Jon would make a great coach,” said Bengals offensive coordinator Bob Bratkowski. “In Seattle as a young player, he always seemed to get the first down any way he could. Now, he knows the NFL game inside and out and, in all honesty, he has a better understanding of offenses and defenses than a lot of NFL coordinators and assistant coaches.”

One week later at Pittsburgh, Kitna passed for 271 yards and three touchdowns, including the game-winner, with 13 seconds left to steal a 24-20 victory.

Although the Bengals lost three of their final four games to fall out of the playoff picture, Kitna had a good year with 3,591 yards, 26 touchdowns, and 15 interceptions and was named the NFL’s Comeback Player of the Year (a first in team history).

“My whole life, I never had anything handed to me,” Kitna told the AP. “Nobody thought I was ‘the guy.’ I was always a pretty good athlete, but I was never one that people clamored about or anything like that. My personality ended up helping me. In this league, very few people are going to have things handed to them. The majority of people have to fight for it.”

 

On to Detroit

Detroit Lions helmet
(Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)

 

In 2004, Palmer was ready to begin his pro career yet continued to pick Kitna’s brain for pointers.

Kitna didn’t try to fight the demotion as he understood the hierarchy of the NFL.

During a clash against New England in Week 14, Palmer went down with a season-ending knee injury and Kitna replaced him for the rest of the year.

The result was 623 yards, five touchdowns, and four interceptions.

Then, in 2005, Palmer came into his own and passed for over 3,800 yards and 32 touchdowns as the Bengals won 11 times and made the playoffs for the first time since 1990.

Kitna played sparingly, netting just 99 yards and two interceptions.

However, during the team’s wild-card game against Pittsburgh, Palmer sustained a gruesome leg injury on the contest’s second play.

Kitna filled in and passed for 197 yards, one score, two interceptions, and a fumble.

The Steelers advanced with a 31-17 win.

Barely two months later, Kitna signed as a free agent with the Detroit Lions.

 

Huge Numbers as a Lion

Detroit Lions # 8 quarterback Jon Kitna passing under pressure
(Photo by Tom Berg/NFLPhotoLibrary)

 

Detroit envisioned Kitna competing with Josh McCown, who had also just signed with the team, in 2006.

Kitna took the starter’s role and never looked back.

That season, the Lions only won three games, however, Kitna became the first quarterback in franchise history to play every snap of every game.

Even with limited weapons on offense, Kitna had 372 completions on 596 attempts (both stats set team records) for 4,208 yards (a career-high), 21 touchdowns and 22 interceptions.

His passing yards made Kitna just the second quarterback in franchise history (after Scott Mitchell) to pass for over 4,000 yards in a single season.

Although little was expected from Detroit in 2007, Kitna raised eyebrows before the year when he made a bold prediction.

“I think we can win 10 games,” Kitna said.

Several media members, as well as numerous NFL peers, scoffed at the prediction.

By the end of Week 9, however, Kitna looked like a prophet.

That week Detroit crushed the Denver Broncos, 44-7, to raise their record to 6-2.

Additionally, during a Week 3 game against Philadelphia, Kitna set a personal and franchise record by passing for 442 yards, though the Lions lost.

Just when things were looking up, Detroit fell back to Earth with a massive thud.

Seven losses in their next eight games humbled the team with a 7-9 overall record.

Kitna, as expected, was made fun of for not reaching 10 wins even though he passed for 4,068 yards, his second consecutive 4,000-yard passing season and the first QB in Lions history to do so.

Unfortunately,  he also led the NFL with 20 interceptions.

In 2008, Kitna started the first four games of the year before suffering from a back injury against the Chicago Bears.

He was placed on injured reserve and missed the rest of Detroit’s disastrous 0-16 season.

 

One Last Hurrah in Dallas

Jon Kitna #3 of the Dallas Cowboys in action
(Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)

 

In early 2009, Detroit traded Kitna to the Dallas Cowboys for cornerback Anthony Henry.

He was the primary backup to starter Tony Romo and Kitna didn’t see the field at all that season.

Romo continued to keep Kitna tied to the bench in 2010 until breaking his clavicle against the Giants in Week 7.

Kitna stepped up and started the next nine games, passing for 2,365 yards, 16 touchdowns, and 10 interceptions.

Then, on Christmas Day, Kitna suffered an injury of his own against Arizona and was done for the rest of the year.

In 2011, Kitna’s back flared up again, limiting him to only three game appearances, 87 yards, one touchdown, and two picks.

When the season ended, Kitna hung up his cleats.

During his career, Kitna passed for 29,745 yards, 169 yards and 165 interceptions.

He also rushed for 956 yards and 11 scores.

Kitna was the NFL’s Comeback Player of the Year in 2003.

 

Return to Tacoma and a Call from the Cowboys

Dallas Cowboys helmet
(Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)

 

When Kitna ended his college career at Central Washington, he envisioned spending the rest of his life teaching and coaching at the high school level.

The NFL got in the way of those plans, but that didn’t mean Kitna still didn’t have that passion in his heart.

In 2012, he returned to Lincoln High School in Tacoma, his alma mater, and taught math for a few periods while also serving as the school’s head football coach.

Before he began teaching, Kitna asked the school principal and his fellow teachers to give him their worst students.

The teachers happily agreed, but the new teacher surprised everyone when those same kids began studying and doing well in Algebra.

Kitna was asked several times why he was spending his days with high school kids when he could have been relaxing in retirement.

“I never knew I wasn’t going to do it,” Kitna said in 2012.

More than anything, the former NFL quarterback was excited to be back at Lincoln.

“If it was going to be in the city, it would have been real hard for it to be anywhere besides here,” Kitna said.

His first year as the Abes’ coach led to a 5-5 record in 2012, then 8-2 in 2013.

Kitna then gained national attention when the Cowboys called him just before Christmas that year.

Tony Romo had sustained a back injury and was lost for the remainder of the season.

Kyle Orton was now the starter, but Dallas needed a reliable backup.

It didn’t matter that Kitna hadn’t played in almost two years and he signed on the dotted line.

He didn’t play but Kitna donated his $55,294 salary for one game to the booster club at Lincoln High.

In 2014, the Abes went 11-1 with Kitna back on the sidelines and went 7-0 in conference play.

 

Still Coaching

Kitna made a difficult decision in the early weeks of 2015 when he resigned from Lincoln to become the head ball coach at Waxahachie High School in Waxahachie, Texas.

The Indians steadily improved and made the playoffs for the first time since 2009 during Kitna’s three years with the school.

“God has given me a passion for being transformational and having an impact on youth, and I couldn’t think of a job that would be better for that than being a high school coach,” Kitna said.

In 2018, Kitna moved on to Brophy College Prep in Phoenix and led the Broncos to a 7-4 record and an appearance in the state playoffs.

A year later, Kitna was supposed to be the offensive coordinator of the Alliance of American Football’s San Diego Fleet.

Before he could coach a game for the Fleet, the Cowboys reached out and asked Kitna if he’d like to be their quarterback’s coach.

Kitna took the job.

When Mike McCarthy took over Dallas in 2020, Kitna was not re-hired.

He stayed in Texas and became the head coach and athletic director at Burleson High School in Burleson, Texas, through the 2022 season.

Ever the nomad, Kitna was on the move again in 2023 when he was hired as the dean of students and head football coach at Lakota East High School in Liberty Township, Ohio.

Kitna and his wife, Jennifer, have four children.

Their son, Jalen, took after his father and became a talented quarterback with a scholarship to the University of Florida.

In 2022, Jalen was dismissed from the team after he was arrested on child pornography charges.

The charges were later reduced and Jalen transferred to the University of Alabama-Birmingham where he will play in 2024.

 

References

https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/39209002/former-florida-qb-jalen-kitna-commits-uab

https://archive.seattletimes.com/archive/?date=19951217&slug=2158145

https://digitalcommons.cwu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1155&context=cwu_football

https://archive.seattletimes.com/archive/?date=19951217&slug=2158145

https://www.bengals.com/news/kitna-sees-uncertain-future-731414

https://www.bengals.com/news/holmgren-kitna-a-team-guy-732824

https://www.bengals.com/news/comeback-player-leads-comeback-year-727386

https://www.cincyjungle.com/veteransofcincinnati/2018/1/13/16885326/remembering-the-best-moments-of-jon-kitnas-career-with-the-bengals

bleacherreport.com

https://sports.yahoo.com/nfl–former-nfl-qb-jon-kitna-finds-%E2%80%98gold-mine%E2%80%99-at-a-school-where-other-teachers-only-saw-problems-194739063.html

bleacherreport.com

https://wildcatsports.com/honors/hall-of-fame/jon-kitna/145

https://www.seattletimes.com/sports/seahawks/jon-kitnas-greatest-play-nfl-qb-to-high-school-math-teacher/

https://www.foxsports.com/stories/nfl/where-are-they-now-ex-nfl-qb-jon-kitna-has-found-a-new-calling

fanbuzz.com

https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/K/KitnJo00.htm

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Ben Donahue
Contributor at Pro Football History
Over 25 years of experience in sports including coach, athletic director, game day operations, media relations, football operations, and scout. He is [...]

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