Wildcats hire program legend from Texas A&M as HC

A day after the retirement of head football coach Chris Kliman, Kansas State has hired former Wildcats quarterback Colin Klein to succeed Kliman in Manhattan.

Kansas State made Klein’s hiring official tonight with fasting on X, formerly Twitter, as well as a press release.

“We are excited to welcome one of our all-time greats home to Manhattan,” said Kansas State athletic director Gene Taylor. “Collin is an outstanding leader who cares deeply about his players. The grit, toughness and aggression he displayed as a player continues to fuel him as a coach today, and he is determined to continue the tremendous success this program has achieved. As we know, college football has changed, and I am confident that Collin is ready to embrace this new model of football, and we know to embrace this new culture. home, Collin, Shalin, Beric, Rhett, Trek and Briar.”

I have our guy. pic.twitter.com/noiv4A8z7B

— K-State Football (@KStateFB) December 5, 2025

Klein, 36, spent the past two seasons at Texas A&M as the Aggies’ offensive coordinator, but before that he spent all but a handful of years in a 15-year span sporting the purple, white and silver.

A native of Loveland, Colo., Klein arrived in Manhattan in 2008, the final season under Ron Prince before the return of Bill Snyder, the school’s greatest coach. Under Snyder, Klein became one of the nation’s most lethal dual-threat quarterbacks, totaling more than 6,000 yards and nearly 80 touchdowns between his junior and senior seasons. As a senior in 2012, Klein was named the Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year, a second-team All-American and a Heisman Trophy finalist.

Two years after leaving Kansas State, Klein returned to begin his coaching career; He spent the 2014 and 2015 seasons as a defensive quality control coach and graduate assistant before becoming the quarterbacks coach at Northern Iowa. A year later, he returned to K-State, where he served as quarterbacks coach and/or offensive coordinator for six years.

Before the 2024 season, Klein left Kansas State join new Texas A&M coach Mike Elk’s staff as his offensive coordinator. After ranking 50th in scoring in 2024, Klein’s unit improved to 16th in the nation this season, averaging 36.3 points per game as A&M went 11-1 and all but guaranteed a spot in the College Football Playoff (CFP).

In their press release, Kansas State revealed that Klein will continue to work for the currently seventh-ranked Aggies throughout their postseason.