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Report: Kansas State exploring athletic department roles for Chris Klieman rather than retirement buyout

Danby: Daniel Hager02/12/26DanielHagerOn3

Former Kansas State head coach Chris Klieman will not be returning to the sidelines next season. However, he could remain with the program and athletic department in some capacity.

Kellis Robinett of the Wichita Eagle/Kansas City Star reported Thursday morning that Kansas State was looking into the possibility of shifting Klieman into a new role within the athletic department. Robinett got the scoop in an exclusive interview with K-State AD Gene Taylor.

“I may see if there is anything I can figure out for him, with an idea for consulting on some things and maybe even some fundraising,” Taylor said.

After seven seasons as the head coach at Kansas State, Chris Klieman announced that he would be stepping down and retiring from his position in early December. Over that span, Klieman led the Wildcats to a 54-34 (36-27) record. This past season was disappointing, however, as they opened the season ranked No. 17 in the AP Poll but finished just 6-6.

He was succeeded by former K-State QB great Collin Klein, who had been serving as Texas A&M‘s offensive coordinator for the past two seasons. With Klein calling the plays in 2025, the Aggies compiled an 11-1 regular season record and made an appearance in the College Football Playoff for the first time in program history.

“The time is now,” Klein said during his introductory press conference. “There’s never been a more critical time in col­lege foot­ball, of more volat­il­ity and a little bit of uncer­tainty. We have to attack this thing head-on, and it’s going to take all of us, every single one of us in here has something to give to help take this pro­gram where it needs to go.

“I told our play­ers this after­noon that they’re going to get every ounce that I have to help move this pro­gram for­ward in every single area. I love chal­lenges; I love going and doing hard things. To take this pro­gram where it has never been is going to be hard, and I want it to be hard. We are going to attack this thing together, as a staff, as play­ers, as a fan­base and as an admin­is­tra­tion… We’re going to take this pro­gram where it hasn’t been before.”

After a disappointing 2025 season, Kansas State is looking to return to its winning ways next season. Prior to this last season, the Wildcats had won at least eight games in four consecutive seasons.