Jon Kitna is pretty much the coolest high school math teacher ever
The holiday school break offered Jon Kitna a couple weeks off from his job as a math teacher and head football coach at his alma mater, Tacoma (Wash.) Lincoln High, so he figured, what the hell, why not play in the NFL for a bit.
When the recently retired 15-year veteran of the Seahawks, Bengals, Lions and Cowboys heard a back injury might keep Tony Romo from starting a vital Week 17 showdown against the Eagles, Kitna texted Dallas coach Jason Garrett to alert him of his availability. The 41-year-old Kitna backed up Romo from 2009-11 before retiring in January 2012.
Kitna will earn $53,000 for a week's worth of third-string quarterbacking duty behind the recovering Romo and backup Kyle Orton over the Christmas break, according to The Dallas Morning News, and will reportedly donate his entire paycheck to the school where he's been teaching math and coaching the football team for the past two years.
“He said he would run scout team for the high school team and give them a really good look, like he gave us great looks when he was here,” Garrett told the paper. “So he’s a very active guy. He’s a mentally tough guy. ... And he’s certainly very young at heart.”
This past fall, Kitna coached Lincoln to an 8-2 record and a district playoff appearance in his second season at the helm. His son Jordan is the team's starting quarterback.
Just imagine trying to entertain your students with stories of the time you dressed your dog up in a Santa suit over the Christmas break when the guy in the next classroom is playing in the NFL on the weekend and donating his entire paycheck to the school.
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