Kansas State fans are getting exactly what they wanted.
After a successful seven-year run as K-State’s head football coach, Chris Klieman has decided to retire. Collin Klein, a beloved former quarterback and offensive coordinator, has been hired as his replacement.
Hopes can’t get much higher in Manhattan than they are right now.
With that in mind, we’ve got lots of fun topics to cover this week. So let’s dive into your questions. Thanks, as always, for providing them.
Why do you think Chris Klieman decided to retire this week? – Jeff M. via e-mail.
Timing certainly had something to do with it.
Collin Klein was a prime candidate to take over as head coach at USF earlier this week. By retiring now, Klieman was able to prevent “the chosen one” from going anywhere else. The dream K-State succession plan is underway.
Klieman did the one thing that would make K-State fans everywhere love him again.
He had a great run with the Wildcats. He won 54 games, achieved bowl eligibility in six of seven seasons and brought home a Big 12 championship. He also coached certified dudes like Deuce Vaughn, Cooper Beebe and Felix Anudike-Uzomah.
But, and you knew that word was coming, his popularity was on the decline. Fans were no longer rallying around his postgame comments. And winning became a chore this season. I would argue he received too much criticism for a 6-6 record. He would, too. Still, that wasn’t going to stop unless he won 10 games next year.
It’s possible he could have led the Wildcats to another Big 12 championship had he decided to continue coaching until the end of his contract. But he was intent to ride off into the sunset. There was no better time to do it than now.
Please rank the top seven wins of the Chris Klieman era. One for every year he was our head coach! – Andrew B. via e-mail.
1. K-State 31, TCU 28 in the 2022 Big 12 championship game: Deuce Vaughn’s final touchdown run of the day inside AT&T Stadium remains the loudest moment of my time on the K-State beat. Fans could taste a conference title. A goal-line stand and walk-off field goal in overtime made this game incredibly memorable.
2. K-State 48, Oklahoma 41 in 2019: The Wildcats beat a loaded Oklahoma team that featured Jalen Hurts at quarterback. Fans rushed the field to celebrate Chris Klieman’s first signature victory in Manhattan.
3. K-State 38, Oklahoma 35 in 2020: Looking back, it is wild that the Wildcats entered this game as 28.5-point underdogs. Klieman knew how to beat the Sooners.
4. K-State 41, Oklahoma 34 in 2022: The Sooners turned out to be mediocre at best that season, but no one knew that when the Wildcats beat them behind an incredible game from Adrian Martinez. Oklahoma was ranked in the top 10, and this win helped propel K-State to a Big 12 championship.
5. K-State 31, Mississippi State 24 in 2019: One year earlier, the Bulldogs wiped the floor with Bill Snyder’s final team in Manhattan. It was shocking to see the Wildcats go on the road and win the rematch in Klieman’s third game. The helicopter tackle at the end was also fantastic.
6. K-State 31, Colorado 28 in 2024: I don’t know that I’ve ever seen K-State football players happier after a regular-season win.
7. K-State 42, KU 17 in 2025: The Jayhawks were favored over the Wildcats for the first time in nearly two decades, then K-State pummeled them in Lawrence.
How long was Chris Klieman considering retiring? -@dinzerillo via X.
Only he knows the answer to that question.
But I will say that everything changed in my eyes when he broke down emotionally after the loss to Utah a few weeks ago. Before that moment, people asked me if there was any chance Klieman might retire, and I told them there was no way. He was only 58, and he still seemed gleeful after every win.
I didn’t see an end in sight until that game slipped away, and he cried during his postgame news conference. Gene Taylor consoling him with a hug clinched it for me. For the first time, I thought he might be done.
Turns out, he was.
That loss really crushed his spirit. I wonder if he might still be coaching today with a win in Salt Lake City.
What’s the likelihood that Collin Klein keeps Matt Wells and Joe Klanderman? -@BusMedicMike via X.
The odds of Matt Wells staying seem low. Klein may want to call his own plays as head coach. Even if he doesn’t, he’s going to want to bring in his own offensive coordinator. Not keep one that, fair or not, is already unpopular with fans.
I’m not sure what to think about Joe Klanderman. He has worked with Klein before, and K-State’s defense has always been solid under Klanderman’s guidance. It’s possible Klein will want to retain him.
But Klanderman may look to get a job as a head coach at a mid-major school. He considered the Tulsa job last season but ultimately decided to stay put in Manhattan. Perhaps he is now more motivated to make that kind of leap.
It would make sense for Klein to want to bring in his own DC. But there’s a chance he will look to retain Klanderman.
The most obvious staff retentions seem like Taylor Braet and Brian Lepak, given their history together.
Am I a terrible person if I want to tell K-State fans that coaching our beloved institution may not be the ultimate dream for Collin Klein? I still remember my shock years ago when I glanced at a rack of newspapers (KC Star) and saw the headline that Lon Kruger was leaving KSU. -@kstatefanfirst via X.
It’s not realistic to expect any head coach, even one who happens to be a beloved former quarterback, to stay with one school for his entire career.
Bill Snyder did it. So it has happened before. But coaches leave for different jobs for all sorts of different reasons.
When Klein was the offensive coordinator at K-State, several notable schools tried to poach him away. Penn State called him. Notre Dame convinced him to take a campus visit. Texas A&M succeeded and got him to move to College Station.
If Klein guides K-State to another Big 12 championship, you better believe the Big Ten and SEC will be interested in him. Maybe even the NFL.
Hypothetically speaking, do we really expect Klein to say no to Alabama or Ohio State or the Dallas Cowboys?
Of course, it’s also possible that he doesn’t succeed at K-State as a head coach, and he ends up like Scott Frost at Nebraska. I’m not saying that will happen. Don’t throw tomatoes at me. Point is, we don’t know what to expect.
All I can really say is that if Klein wins enough games to leave for a different job of his choosing then that’s the price of hiring a good up-and-coming coach. K-State would be in excellent position to hire a quality replacement.
Should K-State accept or decline a bowl game? -@garrettb1983 via X.
I vote yes.
Bring Chris Klieman back for one more ride and go beat a Conference USA opponent in the Independence Bowl.
I get why declining a bowl invitation might seem appealing for players and coaches given how uncertain the next month may be for them. But it seems like fans want to see the Wildcats play another game. K-State players could benefit from practice. Everyone loves bowl swag.
At the very least, it seems like a good opportunity to give developmental players a time to shine.
K-State is still evaluating its options about a bowl game. As of Friday morning, no decision had been made.
Will there ever be rules in place to put a salary cap in college football and basketball? Rumors are Ohio State paid $60M for their football team -@ksucats32 via X.
Well, there are already rules. No school is supposed to share more than $20 million dollars with its student-athletes during a given athletic year.
But schools are celebrated for breaking that rule at the moment.
The real question is, will the NCAA ever enforce a salary cap in college sports or not? Right now, it feels like the answer is no.
I’ve seen some buzz that Gene Taylor might retire. Is there any smoke to that? – @JFAwky via X.
When I was first informed that a major retirement was happening at K-State this week, I assumed it was going to be Gene Taylor instead of Chris Klieman.
So, yes, there has been legitimate speculation on that topic.
But I think Klieman retiring has motivated Taylor to push forward for at least another year or two. Here is what he told me earlier this week when I asked him about the possibility of retirement.
“I’m still committed to doing this,” Taylor said. “There are a lot of people in this room that I care about, and I want to keep working until I feel that we have everything in place that we need as a program to be successful. I think we still have some things we need to do.”
He continued.
“I don’t feel it’s the right time,” Taylor said. “Have I thought about it? Absolutely. We bought a home in Arizona, and every time I go out there, I think, you know, this is a pretty good deal. Maybe I should just stay here for a while, but I’m not ready yet.”
How many football players are going to leave the program during this transition? -@BE30 via X.
There will probably be a lot of outgoing transfers. We have seen seven players announce their intentions to leave already.
But that isn’t abnormal for a coaching change.
Coming off a 6-6 season, Collin Klein probably wants to bring in plenty of new transfers. What is the point of running it back with this roster?
Do you believe Avery Johnson will finish his senior season at K-State? -@rcst2msn via X.
Yes.
Nothing is set in stone, but insiders have told me that Avery Johnson wants to finish his career with the Wildcats.
There are plenty of reasons for him stay. K-State will probably pay him more than any other school. And there seems to be no end to the number of NIL deals he can sign with local businesses here. He also has good history with Klein. He’s the one who recruited him to Manhattan. Klein’s family grilled a steak for Johnson and baked him a cobbler on his official recruiting visit.
Johnson also put up fantastic rushing numbers as a freshman while playing for Klein.
If Klein can surround Johnson with some quality receivers, I do think Johnson will stay.
But it has to be at least somewhat tempting for Johnson to consider the Will Howard plan after he transferred to Ohio State and won a national championship.
Is there any chance that Collin Klein will recruit Dylan Edwards back to the roster? – Will H. via e-mail.
That is a fascinating question.
Klein was the offensive coordinator who originally recruited Edwards to K-State. So I guess it’s not impossible. But Klein was also the first coach that Edwards withdrew his commitment on.
Bottom line: After all the turbulence that Edwards felt at K-State this season, his time with the Wildcats is most likely over, regardless of who is coaching the team.
Have you ever had a more hectic work week? If so, when and what was the week? What was the most surprising and chaotic moments of this week? -@bfullingt1 via X.
At one point on Wednesday night, my wife opened the door to my home office and asked the following question: “How many stories can you possibly write in one day?”
The answer was six. And that was without me writing a single word about National Signing Day. Sorry incoming recruits!
Was it hectic? Yes. But you live for that kind of day as a sports reporter. My fingers can rest in the summer.
It wasn’t anything new for me. Bill Snyder’s retirement was busier. I had to spend a week figuring out when he was going to call it quits. Then I spent the next week following the coaching search that led to Klieman. The week after that, I was on my way to Fargo to watch Klieman coach an FCS playoff game at North Dakota State.
Talk about a busy three weeks.
All three of K-State’s recent basketball trips to the Elite Eight were also incredibly busy. I barely had time to sleep between stories.
Player “buy in” clearly looked to be a problem in Kansas State’s basketball loss to Bowling Green. Was that a one-game anomaly or a more pervasive problem? -@jeff_burkhart via X.
K-State didn’t play with much energy during its shocking loss to Bowling Green. But I’m not sure that was the biggest problem.
Jerome Tang needs to make up his mind. Is K-State going to try and win by scoring 95 points every night? Or is K-State going to try and win with defense?
It doesn’t seem like he recruited the right assortment of players to do both.
Perhaps Klein can give him some pointers while he is in the house for Saturday’s home game against Seton Hall.
This is way off topic, but what gift should a great husband get for his wife for Christmas? I’m thinking a dishwasher doesn’t fit the bill. Can you help me? -@ChadFullington via X.
I hear vintage Collin Klein jerseys are suddenly back in style around Manhattan.
This story was originally published December 5, 2025 at 9:54 AM.
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Kellis Robinett
The Wichita Eagle
Kellis Robinett covers Kansas State athletics for The Wichita Eagle and The Kansas City Star. A winner of more than a dozen national writing awards, he lives in Manhattan with his wife and four children.
