What We Learned: Chris Klieman was always the right guy for Kansas State

When Bill Snyder was done for the final time at Kansas State, it wasn’t going to be an easy task to replace him. A number of candidates were rumored for the job. North Dakota State Head Coach Chris Klieman started to rise to the top. Then Gene Taylor made him the succeeding coach to Snyder. Many were unsure if he was the best choice. Each step of the way, Klieman proved he was always the right guy.

In his first team meeting, his enthusiasm and demeanor won K-State fans over instantly. His first press conference reaffirmed that.

But he had a tall task in front of him, there were no scholarship running backs on the roster. Didn’t matter, he figured it out. A team that should have won five games at most, won eight his first season and returned the Wildcats to their proper position. It included a monumental victory over No. 5 Oklahoma, an eventual playoff participant.

And while 2020 didn’t go according to plan on the field, Klieman was the right guy to lead Kansas State through pandemic football and a bevy of social unrest that K-State was at the center of. He kept his team together and on the other end returned to an eight-win season in 2021. But it wasn’t good enough, and he fired his long-time offensive coordinator and friend, Courtney Messingham. The replacement? Giving Collin Klein his first crack at being a playcaller.

In 2022, the pairing of Klieman hiring Klein and keeping players through the disaster of 2020 culminated in the third Big 12 championship at K-State. It wasn’t easy. They lost their starting quarterback, they lost a bad game to Tulane early in the season. But they responded and were ready for a goal-line stand to defeat the eventual national runner-up, TCU, in overtime.

He continued to capitalize on all of that success by delivering the biggest recruiting wins in K-State history, producing players that will forever be part of the history of a proud program.

It all worked because he was just a guy. That is all you need to be successful at Kansas State. Low-key, but love for football and the community you are in. Klieman was the right guy each step of the way. Most exemplified by his exit.

Deciding to step down when he did was the most selfless act a coach can do, especially one who would surely have been back next year and probably has something left in the tank. But he had the best interests of K-State in mind. Knowing he could hand it off to the next right guy.

We shouldn’t be surprised; he was always the right guy.