Andy Kotelnicki is back at Kansas, the program announced Friday. The former Jayhawks offensive coordinator will return as associate head coach, the program said.
"We are excited to welcome Andy and his family back to Lawrence," head coach Lance Leipold said. "Andy is familiar with our staff and culture, has run successful offenses for nearly two decades, and his experience over the past two seasons at Penn State will add to our program in a variety of ways. Having worked with Andy for 11 years, I'm looking forward to him rejoining this current staff as associate head coach."
Kotelnicki, of course, worked with Leipold continuously from 2013-23. Kotelnicki joined Leipold at Wisconsin-Whitewater in '13, and the two went 30-0 together in two seasons. That success took them to Buffalo, and then to Kansas.
After a predictable 2-10 start to their KU tenure in 2021, the Jayhawks improved to 6-7 in 2022 and then went 9-4 with a bowl win and a No. 23 final ranking in 2023.
Kotelnicki's offenses did not click with Drew Allar at the helm for his two seasons in Happy Valley, and Kansas booked back-to-back 5-7 seasons in his absence. The 2025 campaign was the most disappointing season in recent Kansas football history relative to expectations, given Kansas moved back into David Booth Memorial Stadium after a year in Kansas City.
Jim Zebrowski was promoted from co-offensive coordinator to the lead coordinator upon Kotelnicki's departure, and all indications are he'll remain in that role with Kotelnicki back on staff. Zebrowski was Leipold's offensive coordinator at Whitewater from 2007-09 has has been with him since 2017 at Buffalo.
"I care deeply about the University of Kansas, and my family and I are thrilled to be back at a university that has been so good to us" Kotelnicki said. "Working alongside Coach Leipold has been one of the highlights of my career, and I'm excited to rejoin him and the entire staff at KU. I'm very grateful to Coach, Athletic Director Travis Goff and Chancellor Doug Girod for welcoming us back. I can't wait to get to work."
The Jayhawks will break in a new quarterback next season after playing Jalon Daniels at the position off and on for the past six seasons. The sixth-year senior completed 62.1 percent of his passes for 2,531 yards with 22 touchdowns against seven interceptions in 2025, while KU averaged 6.05 yards per play and 28.1 points per game last season.