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Every new year life changes occur.
 
Relationships change. Dreams change. Careers change.
 
For the HBU football program, the biggest changes to start 2018 were two new coordinator hires. On Jan. 10, Zach Kittley was named the school's new offensive coordinator, while Jeff Mills was named the new defensive coordinator.
 
Kittley, 26, arrived in Houston after spending the previous five seasons working in various coaching roles at Texas Tech. Meanwhile, Mills joins the Huskies carrying 30 years of experience at the collegiate level.
 
Although it's only been a few months since they joined the Huskies' program, both have already began making an impact and don't appear to be slowing down anytime soon.
 
WISE BEYOND HIS YEARS
 
Becoming an offensive coordinator in the collegiate ranks isn't a common thing for most 26-year-olds, yet Kittley is not your average Joe. Serving as a graduate assistant during his final three years at Texas Tech, he coached a pair of quarterbacks in Pat Mahomes II and Davis Webb, who were both selected in the 2017 NFL Draft. That highlight alone had Husky quarterback Bailey Zappe ecstatic when he learned Kittley was chosen as the team's new OC.  
 
"I looked him up," Zappe recalled. "I saw he was from (Texas) Tech. When he first met with us, he said he worked under Kliff Kingsbury. I was like, 'Kingsbury, that's a high-profile coach.' (Texas) Tech has had the best offense in the country for the past few years. He learned from the best."
 
From Kittley's point of view, as soon as he heard about the HBU offensive coordinator opening, he became intrigued.
 
"I loved the interview experience and what the program was all about," Kittley said. "For myself too, growing as a young coach, I'm 26 years old. This is a great coaching and learning experience."
 
HBU head coach Vic Shealy acknowledged he was targeting a young candidate from a high profile offensive program. From the beginning, Kittley seemed to be the perfect fit for the position.   
 
"Several people I talked to who I really respected came back and said the rising star out there is Zach Kittley from (Texas) Tech," Shealy said. "Coach Kingsbury has given him the quarterbacks for the last year or year and a half, and what he's done with those guys fundamentally and his knowledge of that system, is second to none."
 
Kittley's time in Lubbock is where he became educated in leading young men and received guidance in how to run an offense. Meanwhile there were numerous other skills he gained, none of which made his decision to leave easier.
 
"It was hard to leave," Kittley said. "It was my home, I grew up there. I got my undergrad (degree) there. I got a Master's (degree) there.
 
"West Texas is my home, and it always will be. I'm a Red Raider through and through, but at the same time, it was time to make this jump to the next level."
 
Thus far, Kittley notes there haven't been any major surprises. He's certainly embracing the new role and already has established a goal of tripling the offensive per game point total from 2017. Whether the goal can be achieved in his initial season will be determined on how well the unit executes.
 
"It's going to take 11 guys playing together at the end of the day," Kittley said. "We've got to be clicking on all cylinders. It's not an easy fix. You're coming into a team that scored 11 (points) a game, coming in here with a brand-new system.
 
"But I think if we have our guys buying in — which is part of the process — and just the more practice we get, the more repetitions we get, our guys are going to start understanding. I think they can get it done."
 
GOD'S DOOR OPENING
 
Unlike Kittley, Mills is a veteran coach who accepted his position with the Huskies after being away from the college coaching ranks in 2017.
 
While not being involved in the college game was unique for Mills, it did provide him the opportunity to run a Sports and Wellness Athlete Training (SWAT) private football academy in Albuquerque, New Mexico, with his son, Tyler. 
 
"It was a blessing," Mills said of his year away from college football. "What is interesting, it stretched me to go out and explore and learn. I played college quarterback, so I was working on teaching and coaching quarterbacks. I was working receiver drills.
 
"I actually learned a lot of things technique-wise, because I've been on the defensive side most of my career."
 
What helped Mills land in Houston was his relationship with Shealy and former Husky defensive coordinator, Charlie Camp. Today, the linebackers coach at UTSA, Camp, was a graduate assistant for Mills when he was serving as defensive coordinator at the University of Idaho.
 
"Circle of life," Mills said with a laugh. "God opened the door when Charlie left here."
 
Mills and his wife Carmen, had been praying throughout 2017 for an opportunity to return to college coaching. When Shealy contacted him in late December 2017 to discuss the opening, Mills considered he and Carmen's prayers had been answered.
 
"My wife and I were praying about working for a Christian leader who is basically serving God and living for an audience of one," Mills said. "It's just amazing how God works. I feel like I'm in heaven here on earth as far as coaching football in Texas. My dad had a dream of coaching football in Texas and he never got that opportunity. I know he's smiling looking down that I have this opportunity that Coach Shealy has afforded me to be in the great state of Texas, where football is king."
 
While their relationship runs deep, Mills and Shealy also share a mutual level of respect.  
 
"He is unbelievable," Mills said of his new boss. "The atmosphere he creates for us as a staff, the working environment that we have, the family atmosphere that he creates. That is not always the norm. It always starts at the top.
 
"The speed of the leader determines the rate of the pack, and Coach (Shealy) sets a great pace. A fantastic pace."
 
Shealy remembered when he was defensive coordinator at Kansas, he visited Mills at the University of Washington. During the visit, he took notice of Mills' ability in connecting with his players.
 
"He was the secondary coach at the University of Washington," Shealy said. "When I went out there, and really got a chance to watch him on the field with the players, I realized that this guy was a heck of a lot better coach than I was with these defensive backs."
 
Mills concedes that he's entering HBU not trying to reinvent the team's defense, yet he knows that his group's success will be measured on its turnover margin.
 
"Sometimes as coaches, you keep it in the simplest form," Mills said. "It's all about the ball. We've got to go out and make sure that we're doing everything as a defensive staff to put our guys in position to try and get the ball back for our offense. That's the number one thing."
 
TOGETHER AS ONE
 
As the spring practice period concludes, Kittley and Mills are pleased with what they were able to incorporate and accomplish.  
 
Shealy is proud of what has transpired on both sides of the ball and notes that both new hires share a humbleness in which they work.  
 
"It's not offense versus defense or defense versus offense," Shealy said. "What's fun is just to see the game being taught and both sides of the ball complimenting each other. We're in a really good place in our locker room right now with our chemistry. Not that we've ever been in a bad place, but I think one of the by-products of two new coordinators is that there's a lot of good things going on inside the head and heart of our program. That's a result of those two guys."          
 
Kittley and Mills will coach their first game as members of the Houston Baptist coaching staff on Saturday, Sept. 1 at 6 p.m. at Husky Stadium against Southwest Baptist.
 
This story can be found in the newest addition of The Pillars, available now.