Collin Klein is about to learn just how steep the first-time head coach climb can be, but Kansas State has handed him a setup that should make the landing a little softer.
The Wildcats’ new coach is stepping into his first season running a college program, and the usual chaos that comes with the job is already there. But Klein has a few things working in his favor.
He’s not walking into a stranger’s building, and he’s not trying to figure out the program from scratch. He knows Kansas State.
He knows the people. He knows the place.
That familiarity mattered enough for Klein to bring it up last week at Big 12 Media Days in Frisco, Texas. When Kansas State hired him in December, he was still tied up as Texas A&M’s offensive coordinator for the bowl game, which only added to the whirlwind.
"The transition timing is crazy in college football right now," Klein said. "You're doing 10,000 different things and when you're in the middle of a playoff game while putting together a staff, trying to hold the roster together. I was very fortunate having been here two years before, not too long ago, to have a little bit of a lay of the land, a little bit of an understanding of the personnel, of the roster."
That background is no small thing. Klein starred at quarterback for the Wildcats in the early 2010s, then came back later as an assistant under Chris Klieman, who resigned after last season. That second stint gave Klein a head start on the current roster and helped him build relationships before he ever took over the top job.
One of those connections is with starting quarterback Avery Johnson, part of the group Klein already knew before becoming head coach. He’s not pretending the job is easy, but he made it clear he likes the base he’s inheriting.
"The biggest thing was trying to build relationships with the players as fast I could," Klein said. "And really get to bridge that gap with them to understand where they were at, what they're thinking.
Coach Klieman had done an unbelievable job. Our culture has been very strong.
A good situation to walk into as a first-time head coach."
For a coach trying to make the jump for the first time, that kind of comfort can matter. Klein may still be facing all the usual head-coaching pressure, but he’s walking into it with a head start.