By Austin Meek, Bruce Feldman, Chris Vannini and Ralph D. Russo
Kansas State coach Chris Klieman is going to retire after seven seasons with the Wildcats, the school announced Wednesday.
Collin Klein, offensive coordinator for Texas A&M and a former Kansas State quarterback, could take over the head coaching role for the Wildcats, a program source said earlier Wednesday. Klein was a Heisman Trophy finalist at Kansas State and was Klieman’s offensive coordinator in 2022 and 2023 before leaving to join Mike Elko’s staff at Texas A&M.
“After many deep and thoughtful conversations with my family, we have decided that the time is right for me to retire from coaching,” said Klieman in a statement.
“This decision was not taken lightly and was the culmination of many factors, including my own personal health. I absolutely love coaching the game of football and developing players into young men, but now is the time for me to step away and spend more time with Rhonda and our three kids,” Klieman said.
Kansas State beat Colorado 24-14 Saturday to earn a bowl bid at 6-6, a disappointing finish after the Wildcats won at least nine games in the three previous seasons. Klieman is expected to coach the Wildcats for the team’s bowl game, and Klein will stay with A&M through the Playoff, per program sources.
Klieman, 58, was 54-34 at Kansas State with six bowl appearances and a Big 12 championship in 2022. Before that, he won four FCS national championships in five seasons at North Dakota State, where he was 69-6 as head coach.
The Wildcats were ranked No. 17 in the preseason Associated Press poll but stumbled to a 1-3 start with a narrow win against North Dakota and losses to Iowa State, Army and Arizona. Klieman fought back tears in his postgame news conference after the Wildcats rushed for 472 yards but lost 51-47 at Utah to fall to 5-6. Athletic director Gene Taylor, who hired Klieman, comforted him as he spoke, telling him, “We’ve got your back.”
“I’ve heard that I’ve cashed it in, I’ve heard the players have cashed it in, we need to get new leadership here, we need to get new players, new coaches,” Klieman said. “I’m tired of it. I gotta be honest with you, I’m tired of it.
“I’ve given my friggin’ ass life to this place for seven years. I’ve given everything for seven years, and I think I deserve a little bit of respect. I’m frustrated like everybody else is, but I love those kids, and I’ll go friggin’ battle with those kids any day.”
Klieman’s team beat TCU in the 2022 Big 12 Championship Game before losing to Alabama in the Sugar Bowl, then finished 9-4 in 2023 and 2024 with back-to-back bowl victories. He is No. 2 in career coaching victories at Kansas State behind Bill Snyder, the legendary coach he replaced in 2019.
Snyder was 79 when he retired after a second stint as Kansas State’s head coach. Klieman is nearly two decades younger. The toll of a difficult season was apparent during Klieman’s emotional news conference after the Utah loss.
“We stuffed it down their throat the entire game running the football, and we lost,” Klieman said. “I’m crushed because of that. But I’m going to stand up here with friggin’ pride and say we battled our ass off against a really good team.”
