Retired football coach Chris Klieman ‘has been awesome’ in new role for K-State
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- Chris Klieman retired in December and now serves as an adviser for K-State football.
- Klieman attends practice, meets with athletics director Gene Taylor, and gives advice.
- Klieman will continue in the advisory role for the rest of the calendar year.
Chris Klieman is staying busy in retirement.
Even though the longtime football coach tearfully stepped away from his job at Kansas State in December, he is back working for the Wildcats in a new capacity.
He still attends practice, but he no longer wears a whistle around his neck. He still meets regularly with K-State athletic director Gene Taylor, but the topics they discuss have changed. His days of making decisions are over. Now he simply gives advice.
The plan is for him to continue in this advisory role for the rest of the calendar year. It’s unclear what he will choose to do next. For now, though, the Wildcats are glad he’s still in town.
“He has been really helpful,” Taylor said. “He has certainly helped me with some of the stuff that I have been working on with a couple of committees. He has looked at our football oversight stuff and the football calendar for recruiting and spring ball and other things we are working through. I try to meet with him before all of my meetings. He gives me his thoughts from a football perspective and helps me get prepared.”
A few months back, a photo of new K-State football coach Collin Klein speaking with Klieman at a spring practice was spread across social media.
They both appeared to be smiling and laughing as they watched the Wildcats prepare for the 2026 season. That wasn’t a one-time thing.
Klein says he has enjoyed having Klieman nearby. The doors are always open for Klieman at K-State football practice.
“It has been awesome,” Klein said. “I appreciate that resource and that relationship. We’ve talked about a lot of different things, from how we’ve structured the spring to working through the summer and then into the fall. It’s been great having him around.”
Klieman recently underwent surgery on his lower body, so he has been keeping a low profile as his body recovers. It’s been a few months since his last media interview. But Taylor said he was active within the K-State community before the procedure.
Taylor said Klieman has attended the school’s annual athletic auction in Manhattan, played in a golfing event with donors in California and spent time shaking hands with alums at fundraising events in Kansas City. The plan is for him to stay active when he is back on his feet.
“He has been available to answer questions,” Taylor said. “It’s been good for him to help people understand the college sports world in which we live in now. It’s helpful for our fans and donors to hear from a coach who has lived through it.”
It seems as though Taylor is enjoying his new role at K-State in part because his stress levels are way down.
Klieman led North Dakota State to several FCS championships and then took K-State to five bowl games and one Big 12 championship. He went 54-34 during seven seasons with the Wildcats, but a 6-6 campaign wore on him last year.
He complained about not getting enough respect from the K-State fan base after a painful loss to Utah. Later, he cited the rise of NIL and the transfer portal when he announced his retirement. The game he loved had changed.
Klieman no longer has to worry about those concerns as he helps K-State in a new way.
“Here in December he will decide what’s next for him,” Taylor said, “whether it’s being done or continuing to coach somewhere or something else. I don’t know what he will do. He just told me he wanted to work through the fall. He will be around during fall practice and I have plenty of meetings between now (and then). We’re going to keep him fairly busy.”
This story was originally published May 28, 2026 at 5:00 AM with the headline "Retired football coach Chris Klieman ‘has been awesome’ in new role for K-State."