Klein heading back to Manhattan
One of the Little Apple’s favorite sons is heading home, and Texas A&M is in the market for a new offensive coordinator.
After two years in Aggieland, Collin Klein has been named the new head coach at his alma mater, Kansas State. Reports indicate Klein has reached agreement on a five-year, $21.5 million contract to lead the Wildcats.
The move comes just a day after former head coach Chris Klieman announced his retirement after a 6-6 season. Klieman was 54-34 as the coach at K-State with a bowl record of 3-2.
Still just 36 years old, Klein has developed a reputation as one of the more innovative offensive coordinators in the game, actively working to exploit potential weaknesses of opponents each week instead of sticking with a standard scheme. Even though multiple programs were rumored to have inquired about his availability, only Kansas State had the pull to get him to leave College Station.
It is expected that Klein will continue to serve as offensive coordinator and playcaller for Texas A&M through the College Football Playoff.
Klein led an offensive renaissance at A&M this season, with the Aggies ending up 16th in scoring offense and 20th in total offense nationally. Klein saw quarterback Marcel Reed develop into one of the top quarterbacks in the country, as he threw for 2,932 yards and 25 touchdowns while rushing for 466 yards and another 6 scores.
Even though the 2024 Aggies were largely reliant on the running game, featured by Le’Veon Moss, A&M still led the SEC in scoring during conference play at 32 points per game. This season, armed with the addition of wide receivers KC Concepcion and Mario Craver, the emergence of Ashton Bethel-Roman and the surprising impact of tight end Nate Boerkircher, the Aggies averaged 454.6 yards per game on offense and scored more than 40 points in six of 12 games. They exceeded the 30-point plateau in 10 of their games.
In addition, Reed led the conference in yards per completion at 14.0 and Concepcion tied for the conference lead in touchdowns scored with nine. Four different Aggies averaged more than 5.2 yards per carry on more than 40 attempts, while A&M quarterbacks were only sacked 12 times all season.
During his early signing period press conference Wednesday, Texas A&M coach Mike Elko said Klein had earned the opportunity to run his own program.
“I think when you hire really good people, opportunities like that will come,” he said. “You appreciate that people want to stay part of your program until the next big opportunity for them comes.”
