Jim Zebrowski - Football - Kansas Jayhawks

Jim Zebrowski

TITLE Co-Offensive Coordinator
PHONE 864-3392

Bio

Jim Zebrowski is in his third season as the quarterbacks coach at Kansas under head coach Lance Leipold. Following the 2023 regular season, Zebrowski was promoted to Co-Offensive Coordinator for the Jayhawks.

Zebrowski has helped the Jayhawks to back-to-back bowl games for only the second time in program history, following an 8-4 record in 2023 as KU secured a winning record for the first time since 2008.

Zebrowski has mentored quarterbacks Jalon Daniels and Jason Bean to breakout campaigns, leading to Zebrowski’s nomination for the Broyles Award in 2023 – awarded to the best assistant coach in college football. His leadership helped Bean step into the starting role in 2023, and led Kansas to a signature victory over No. 6 Oklahoma and road wins at Iowa State and Cincinnati this season. Kansas’ offense passed for 2,672 yards this season along with 18 touchdowns and a 163.2 passing efficiency, which ranks second in the Big 12 Conference.

Both Bean and Daniels rank in the top-five in passing touchdowns in KU school history, along with ranking in the top-10 in school history in career passing yards.

In his second season at Kansas, Zebrowski mentored Daniels as he had a breakout campaign and led KU to a bowl game for the first time since 2008 and reached the Associated Press Top 25 for the first time since 2009. Kansas started the season 5-0 and hosted ESPN’s College Gameday for the first time in program history.

Daniels was a Second Team All-Big 12 selection after completing 152-of-230 (66.1 percent) passes for 2,014 yards and 18 touchdowns, while adding 425 yards and seven touchdowns on the ground. He capped off the season with a record-setting performance in the AutoZone Liberty Bowl, where he went 37-of-55 for 544 yards and five touchdowns, while also rushing for a touchdown.

KU’s offense has also seen success with Bean under center and the duo combined to throw for 32 touchdowns to eight interceptions in 2022. Daniels passed for 18 touchdowns and 2,014 yards in 2022. Daniels’ 18 touchdowns tied for the fifth most in a season in school history, while Bean’s 14 touchdown passes tied for eighth. Bean was also one of just five Power 5 quarterbacks in 2022 to have back-to-back games of 250 yards passing and four touchdown passes.

A coaching veteran in the Big Ten and Mid-American Conference, Zebrowski came to Kansas with 29 years of experience, including four seasons at Buffalo as the quarterbacks coach and co-offensive coordinator. He is well known for developing young quarterbacks within the programs he works for.

In 2020, Zebrowski helped Buffalo quarterback Kyle Vantrease develop into a solid starting quarterback for the Bulls. In a season that was dominated by the run game, Vantrease was still able to shine after he threw for 353 yards and four touchdowns against Miami (OH) and 365 yards and a score against Ball State in the MAC Championship game. He became the first UB quarterback since 2014 to throw for 350+ yards twice in the same season under Zebrowski’s guidance.

In 2019, Zebrowski led two different young quarterbacks to an eight-win season and helped UB earn the program’s first win in a bowl game. Redshirt-freshman Matt Myers began the season as the starter before suffering a season-ending injury in the fifth game. Myers had a standout performance against Penn State, throwing for 245 yards and a touchdown. Redshirt-sophomore Kyle Vantrease started the final eight games of the season and threw for 1,193 yards and eight touchdowns and ran for six additional touchdowns.

Under Zebrowski’s guidance in 2018, quarterback Tyree Jackson became the first player in school history to be named Mid-American Conference Offensive Player of the Year and the first quarterback in school history to be named All-MAC. He threw for 3,131 yards and 28 touchdowns – both were second in school history for a single season.

During his first season at Buffalo in 2017, Zebrowski made an immediate impact with the Bulls. Despite an injury-riddled season that saw the Bulls have to start three different quarterbacks, Buffalo still led the MAC and set a school record with 3,490 passing yards on the year. Jackson threw for 2,096 yards and 14 touchdowns in eight games, including three 300-plus yard games. Backup Drew Anderson started against Western Michigan and threw for a school- and conference-record 597 yards and seven touchdowns.

Prior to his time at Buffalo, Zebrowski was the quarterbacks coach at Minnesota from 2011-15 and helped lead the Gophers to three-straight bowl games. To touch on his development of young quarterbacks, he took Minnesota signal-caller Mitch Leidner from running the scout team to accounting for 2,250 yards and 21 touchdowns in 2014. Leidner had 10 rushing touchdowns, tying the school record for a quarterback.

He helped lead the Gophers to the Meineke Car Care Bowl in 2012, the Texas Bowl in 2013 and the Citrus Bowl in 2014.

Prior to coaching at Minnesota, Zebrowski was the quarterbacks coach at Northern Illinois in 2010. He tutored All-MAC quarterback Chandler Harnish, an NFL draft pick of the Indianapolis Colts. He also laid the foundation for Harnish’s backup Jordan Lynch who was an All-American and a Heisman Trophy finalist in 2013. Featuring a high-powered offense that averaged over 35 points per game, Zebrowski helped lead the Huskies to the 2010 MAC Championship game and a win over Fresno State in the Humanitarian Bowl.

This is the third time Zebrowski will serve under Leipold. The first was when he was the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Wisconsin-Whitewater from 2007-09. Over his tenure, the Warhawks went 42-3 and advanced to the Division III title game every year, winning it twice. Zebrowski was named the Wisconsin Football Coaches Association Assistant Coach of the Year and the FootballScoop.com Division III Coordinator of the Year in 2009. Most recently, Zebrowski served on Leipold’s staff at Buffalo from 2017-2020.

In 2004, he became the head coach at Lakeland University and led the Muskies to a 28-12 record over four seasons. He led Lakeland to a pair of Illini-Badger Conference championships and advanced to the Division III playoffs for the first time in school history.

Zebrowski and his wife, Heather, who was named Female Athlete of the Year during her volleyball playing days at Southern Illinois, have two children, Zachary and Lauryn. His son, Zach, is a quarterback at Central Missouri.

The Zebrowski File
Alma Mater: Mount Union, 1991
Wife: Heather
Children: Zachary and Lauryn

Coaching Experience 
YearsUniversityRole
2021-PresentKansasQuarterbacks
2017-20BuffaloQuarterbacks
2016Hamline UniversityAssistant Head Coach
2011-15MinnesotaQuarterbacks
2010Northern IllinoisQuarterbacks
2007-09Wisconsin-WhitewaterAssistant Coach
2003-06Lakeland CollegeHead Coach
2000-03Milikin UniversityAssistant Coach
1997-99Southern IllinoisAssistant Coach
1994-96Berea (Oh.) HSAssistant Coach
1991-93Preble Shawnee (Oh.) HSAssistant Coach

 Bowl Game Experience 
YearBowlSchool
2023Guaranteed Rate BowlKansas
2022AutoZone Liberty BowlKansas
2020Camelia BowlBuffalo
2019Bahamas BowlBuffalo
2018Dollar General BowlBuffalo
2015Quick Lane BowlMinnesota
2014Citrus BowlMinnesota
2013Texas BowlMinnesota
2012Meineke Car Care Bowl of TexasMinnesota
2010Humanitarian BowlNorthern Illinois