{"id":85926,"date":"2026-03-21T09:00:24","date_gmt":"2026-03-21T13:00:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/?p=85926"},"modified":"2026-03-20T18:24:45","modified_gmt":"2026-03-20T22:24:45","slug":"kansas-state-football-enters-new-era-with-collin-klein-as-head-coach","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/2026\/03\/21\/kansas-state-football-enters-new-era-with-collin-klein-as-head-coach\/","title":{"rendered":"Kansas State Football Enters New Era with Collin Klein as Head Coach"},"content":{"rendered":"
The Kansas State football program faced insurmountable odds in December after the announcement of former head coach Chris Klieman’s retirement. Not long after, the Wildcats hired former quarterback and Heisman Trophy finalist <\/span>Collin Klein<\/a><\/span> as the program\u2019s 36th head coach.<\/span><\/div>\n
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It doesn\u2019t matter how you look at it, everything about the hire screams potential. So far, it’s been right in line with his motto \u2013 family business. <\/span><\/div>\n

Kansas State\u2019s Decision to Hire Former Quarterback Collin Klein is A Game-Changer<\/span><\/h2>\n
Klein is well acquainted with Kansas State. He was a member of the Wildcats roster from 2008-12, and served as the team\u2019s starting quarterback in his final two seasons. Between his junior and senior years, Klein completed 358 passes for 4,559 yards and 29 touchdowns.<\/span><\/div>\n
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He led the team to a combined 21-5 record, finishing third in the Heisman race in 2012 behind <\/span>Johnny Manziel<\/a><\/span> and<\/span>\u00a0Manti Te\u2019o<\/a><\/span>. Needless to say, he also won the Big 12 Championship that season and played in the Fiesta Bowl. <\/span><\/div>\n
Klein\u2019s time suiting up under center wasn\u2019t the end of it, either. From 2017 to 2021, he served as the Wildcats\u2019 quarterbacks coach and co-offensive coordinator before leaving for Texas A&M. He spent two seasons with the Aggies occupying similar roles before returning ahead of the 2026 season.<\/span><\/div>\n
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After years as a player and coach, Klein knows The Little Apple inside and out.<\/span><\/div>\n

Klein Hasn’t Just Been Around. He\u2019s Won, and Won A Lot. <\/span><\/h3>\n
Former players sticking around as assistants is common at the college level, and not just in the Big 12. Klein, however, isn\u2019t just another one of those guys who opted to hang around. He\u2019s a revitalizing part of an offensive staff that\u2019s making a difference.<\/span><\/div>\n
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He\u2019s produced players like Adrian Martinez<\/a>, a former member of the San Francisco 49ers and \u00a0Birmingham Stallions, along with 2025 national championship quarterback Will Howard. Like Klein, Howard was also a Heisman finalist. <\/span><\/div>\n
He led four eight-win seasons from 2017 to 2022, capping his time in College Station with the program\u2019s first College Football Playoff appearance, where the Aggies fell in the opening round to eventual national title contender Miami.<\/span><\/div>\n
If that wasn\u2019t enough, Klein\u2019s offense bested the Hurricanes’ defense with 326 total yards, 21 first downs, and eight third-down conversions in that game. Talk about making a statement. A quick look back at the numbers from that season, and it becomes clear it wasn\u2019t a one-off.<\/span><\/div>\n
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Marcel Reed<\/a>, the Texas A&M starting quarterback under Klein\u2019s offense, threw for 439 yards against South Carolina in conference play and ended the year with 10 games over the 200-yard mark. In the team\u2019s lone loss to the Texas Longhorns, he rushed for 71 of the team\u2019s 157 total yards on the ground.<\/span><\/div>\n
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Performances like that come from preparation, and during his time with the Aggies, his approach has clearly struck a chord with his players.<\/span><\/div>\n
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Collin Klein To Do Things Differently In His First Season As The Wildcats Head Coach<\/span><\/h3>\n
Klein\u2019s return to Manhattan hasn\u2019t followed a traditional path. However, for someone of his caliber, you wouldn\u2019t want it to. It starts with his coaching hires, a group that\u2019s poised to have just as much influence on this team\u2019s performance as anyone.<\/span><\/div>\n
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That identity begins with quarterbacks coach Christian Anderson, the 28-year-old Northern Iowa product. He\u2019s already praised starting quarterback Avery Johnson<\/a> and, at times, mirrors the same presence Klein once brought to the role.<\/span><\/div>\n
Anderson brings that next-level quarterback mindset \u2013 the same edge Klein carried with the Wildcats, both as a starter and later on the coaching staff. Like Klein, he\u2019s willing to trust his instincts, and that confidence has shown up throughout his career.<\/span><\/div>\n
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A handful of other hires came in the form of previous assistants, including Joe Bob Clements, who served as an assistant under the legendary Bill Snyder. If you\u2019re unfamiliar, Snyder is the winningest football coach in program history. His name also happens to line the side of the stadium.<\/span><\/div>\n
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Enough about Snyder \u2013 the next level quarterback mentality that Klein carries sets up for that level of greatness. Take the same formula he\u2019s used thus far entering spring camp and apply it to the rest of his staff, and the upside is endless. <\/span><\/div>\n
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The only difference for Klein comes in the fact that he\u2019s not an assistant in the box. He\u2019s keeping that sort of mentality. While, maintaining the responsibility for calling plays. In someone at the helm of an already promising Wildcats program, that\u2019s exactly the kind of leadership you\u2019d expect. <\/span><\/div>\n
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If a winning culture and proven program history weren\u2019t already enough. Klein is a \u201cdifferent\u201d kind of leader and might be exactly what Kansas State needs for another postseason push. \u00a0Perhaps, even in Klein\u2019s first year at the helm.<\/span><\/div>\n
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Main Photo: Evert Nelson\/The Capital-Journal \/ USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images<\/span><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Kansas State football program faced insurmountable odds in December after the announcement of former head coach Chris Klieman’s retirement. Not long after, the Wildcats hired former quarterback and Heisman Trophy finalist Collin Klein as the program\u2019s 36th head coach. It doesn\u2019t matter how you look at it, everything about the hire screams potential. So […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5745,"featured_media":85929,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6,2,35671,17],"tags":[1194,2956,6932,35960],"class_list":["post-85926","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-big12","category-featured","category-kansas-state-wildcats","category-news","tag-bill-snyder","tag-chris-klieman","tag-christian-anderson","tag-joe-bob-clements"],"modified_by":"Kate Pearson Halyburton, Editor","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/85926","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5745"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=85926"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/85926\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":85931,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/85926\/revisions\/85931"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/85929"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=85926"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=85926"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=85926"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}