Report: Kansas State coach Chris Klieman to retire, Collin Klein to return as head coach

Kansas State head coach Chris Klieman is set to retire, as early as today, according to Ned Seaton of The Manhattan Mercury. Texas A&M Offensive coordinator Collin Klein is set to take over as the permanent head coach.

K-State announced the retirement of Klieman just after 3 p.m. ET on Wednesday. News of Klein’s hiring was not announced in the release.

“After many deep and thoughtful conversations with my family, we have decided that the time is right for me to retire from coaching,” Klieman said. “This decision was not taken lightly and was the culmination of many factors, including my own personal health. I absolutely love coaching the game of football and developing players into young men, but now is the time for me to step away and spend more time with Rhonda and our three kids. I truly am thankful to Gene Taylor for trusting me with this program in 2018, and we have accomplished many great things including winning the 2022 Big 12 Championship. K-State will always be a special part of our family’s story, and we will forever be Wildcats.”

As far as when he is going to come back to his alma mater, it will have to wait. TexAgs Billy Liucci reported Klein will continue to run the Aggie offense an call plays through their run in the College Football Playoff.

Klieman, 58, took over Kansas State in 2019 after a successful tenure at North Dakota State. He went 54-34 with the Wildcats and won the Big 12 in 2022. He is 126-47 overall as a head coach.

Klieman won four NCAA Division 1 title as head coach of the Bison over the course of five years and went 69-6. Kansas State then went after him in 2019, bringing him to the Wildcats.

Klieman, along with his reported replacement Klein at OC, had a lot of success in Manhattan. Other than the 2020 season (a 4-6 record in a shortened campaign), Kansas State made a bowl game every single season and is bowl eligible this year with a 6-6 record.

Chris Klieman reportedly set to retire as Kansas State head coach

The highlighted stretch with Klieman and Klein came in 2022 and ’23, winning the Big 12 in the former and winning the Pop-Tarts Bowl the following year. Each year, Kansas State finished in the top 20 by season’s end. Klein would then depart for the Texas A&M OC job under Mike Elko.

Even after a 9-4 record last year, there was optimism around Kansas State in 2025. However, the team began 1-3 and never truly recovered. Although a late rally led them to bowl eligibility.

Klein returning home should be good news for Wildcat fans. He is a former Kansas State QB (2008-12) and coaching at the school as a GA in 2014 and ’15 and returned as the QBs coach and eventually offensive coordinator in 2017 through ’23.

Klein helped develop Aggies’ QB Marcel Reed over the last two seasons. This year, helping Texas A&M to an 11-1 record and the College Football Playoff, Reed had 2,932 yards, 25 touchdowns, 10 interceptions, a 61.8% completion percentage, 466 rushing yards and six rushing touchdowns with Klein’s guidance.