Kansas State’s new head coach Collin Klein doesn’t have to guess what the job looks like. He’s been shaped by two of the biggest figures in Wildcats history, and he’s leaning on both as he settles into his first season running the program.
Klein said last week at Big 12 Media Days in Frisco, Texas, that his relationship with former coach Chris Klieman gave him a strong foundation for this next step.
"I think it's an incredible situation top from bottom. starting most recently with coach Klieman, our relationship is very unique," Klein said. "I think it's very genuine.
I think both of us have come at everything through the different course of our professional journey what is best for the other person. I think that is something that I don't take for granted.
He's been there every step of the way."
That connection matters because Klein spent 2019-2023 as Klieman’s quarterbacks coach before leaving for the offensive coordinator job at Texas A & M in 2024. Now he’s back in Manhattan in a much bigger role, and the transition should be smoother because he already knows the program from the inside.
But Klieman isn’t the only voice that still echoes in Klein’s approach. Before coaching, Klein was the Wildcats’ star quarterback from 2008-12, and he learned under Bill Snyder, the coach who built Kansas State into a power.
That experience, Klein said, helped push him toward coaching in the first place.
"Coach Snytder has been tremendous," Klein said. "I'd be here all day if I was going to go through all the ways his fingerprints have been in my life and probably a big reason I got into coaching.
All of those little things that I did't even know he was teaching me at the time. Being able to apply those and have those come to fruition through the course of my journey is incredible."
For Klein, the path to this job has been long, but it hasn’t been random. He’s carrying lessons from a legendary college coach and a former boss who knew him well, and now those lessons are part of the job every day.
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Jackson has made it clear he wants to be more involved catching the ball and doing damage out of the backfield, which would add another layer to an offense that can always use another reliable playmaker. For Kansas State, the appeal is obvious: if Jackson can turn those touches into something bigger, he could raise both his own ceiling and the offenses. [Read more 🡒]