John Kitna Resigns at Lincoln High

Tequilla said:

Waxahachie is normally a solid program in the DFW area ... I can't really blame anybody for taking a job like that. Better competition, better pay, better future prospects. And when talking about a son playing QB, far better for his prospects going forward.

IMO, there's just not a comparison between Texas HS football and Washington HS football. In Washington, there's a lot of men amongst boys that you see. Not the case in Texas.

That's pretty much what I posted.

JamesChristianson said:

@RoadDawg55‌ Jon Kitna said the following. Tell us where he is lying or being dishonest? You said that he did NOT come clean about more pay. He IS SAYING there's more pay in Texas. "Sustainable" isn't the word "money", but that's what he actually means...financially supporting the coaches to sustain and keep them. Please tell us which one of these statements is a lie and how do you know? Thanks.

(1) “The dream would be to stay here, the comfortable thing would have been to stay here, the ideal thing would have been to stay here..."

(2) “It’s really hard to ask coaches to put in 25-30 hours a week after they work a 40-hour-a-week job,”

(3) "If you just want to show up for practice, OK, we’ll go through our two-hour practice and show up on Friday...We would be mediocre...I can’t stand average. I want to be able to compete at the highest level. I just don’t think we could sustain it as is, as it is currently constructed.”

(4) “If it was sustainable, we wouldn’t be having this conversation,”

(5) “Jordan (son/QB) was very involved in this decision. He had the most to give up. He’s brothers with these guys. … It’s a tough deal. I wish it was one year later..."

(6) “I wish I could stay here forever. But it’s not the reality...We invested a lot of time and energy and resources into these three years and it was wildly successful beyond anybody’s beliefs and dreams..."


And what if you're right...what if he did make a mistake and underestimated the challenge? What's so wrong about him changing his mind and his career? And isn't it a noble thing that he's taking folks with him and being loyal to them and helping someone else reap the benefits of his promotion?

There is nothing wrong with Kitna changing his mind and choosing to advance his career. It's a great opportunity for his assistants to advance their careers as well. I am curious if the assistants will now get paid enough that they won't have to work other jobs?

I am also curious why assistant salaries is now an issue. Kitna had to donate a lot of money to get new uniforms and a weight room. He knows Lincoln has no money and is a run down school. Even the schools with money, such as Bellarmine, are paying the assistants peanuts. Only the top assistants get paid anything at all. My cousin is a coach on that staff and easily puts in 20+ hours a week for nothing but the opportunity.

The assistant coaches at Curtis, Lakes, Wilson, Foss, etc aren't making money either. Kitna says he would stay forever if it was sustainable, but I don't get why he thought it would be any different three years later? He's a smart guy. He didn't think, "Well maybe in a few years once we get going, we will have a lot more money for the assistants. Where was this money going to suddenly come from? Lincoln is a run down public school. Wasn't this always part of the challenge and why people were rooting so hard for Kitna? This was always going to be an issue and it was known from day one. High school assistant coaches don't make much money in Washington. Everyone knows this.

A quote from Kitna from the News Tribune:

“The dream would be to stay here, the comfortable thing would have been to stay here, the ideal thing would have been to stay here. But where God is leading me, I have to follow, and I’ve always said that.”

I know Kitna is a very openly religious man, but come on. Did God tell him he was no longer needed at Lincoln? What if an NFL team offered Urban Meyer $12 million and he said he left Ohio State because he always follows God?

Anyways, Kitna is a great coach. I do wish he was staying to become a legend in the town and he did a ton of good for Lincoln and the community. I completely understand why he was leaving. He had a lot of pressure on him at Lincoln to be the savior and I would imagine he's looking forward to being more of a football coach and less of an idol. It is also easier and more feasible to be a national program in Texas than at Lincoln. I wish him well in Texas and look forward to following his career.