A math instructor who was pulled out of NFL retirement to play for the Dallas Cowboys is donating his $53,000 salary to the high school where he teaches.
Jon Kitna, 41, a father of four, teacher and football coach at Lincoln HS, in his hometown Tacoma, Wash., answered his own call of duty when he heard Dallas quarterback Tony Romo was having back problems and likely would miss a key game against the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday.
Kitna reached out to Cowboys coach Jason Garrett on Tuesday to say he was available as backup for the division-deciding game — years after his retirement in 2011 following 15 seasons.
“I told Jason if he wants me or somebody to come in and call a play and be able to pull a play off, if a bad situation happened, I would be willing to do that,” Kitna told The Dallas Morning News.
The team signed him without a tryout. He reportedly beat out four free-agent quarterbacks — David Carr, Tyler Thigpen, John Skelton and Caleb Hanie — for the gig.
Although Kitna will be busting his butt training with his former team during Christmas break, he won’t even keep his hard-earned cash. He told the Cowboys he will donate the NFL check to the school where he teaches.
The school won’t need a substitute teacher while he’s out because Lincoln is on winter break.
“He said he would [play in practice as the opponent] 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 Dallas paper. “So he’s a very active guy . . . He’s certainly very young at heart.
“So it was good to have him back, good to have him back in the meetings, and [I’m] excited to see him practice today.”
If Romo can’t start, Kitna will be the second quarterback, backing up Kyle Orton.
When Romo broke his collarbone in 2010, Kitna started nine. He spent the last three years of his career playing backup to Romo in Dallas. He has started 124 NFL total games for Seattle, Cincinnati, Detroit and the Cowboys.
“I mean, it’s just like anything else throughout 15, 16 years — you do have to be ready,” Kitna told NFL AM days before his signing.
“You do have to know everything that the starter knows. All that is head knowledge.
“You obviously don’t get the chance to go out there and rep it in practice throughout the week and obviously not playing on Sundays, but you’re expected to be ready.”
The Chicago Bears made the same move last year when it pulled Josh McCown, their top backup, from a high school where he was teaching.
Kitna’s son Jordan, a sophomore at the school where he teaches, is also a quarterback.
Romo is suffering from a herniated disc in his back.
Sources told ESPN that he had an epidural injection and would need back surgery and may be benched for the season.