Why Chris Klieman radically changed his special teams philosophy at Kansas State
Winning games with kick returns and blocked punts is nothing new for Kansas State, but it is uncharted territory for its football coach.
Chris Klieman has never been known as a special teams maven, yet the Wildcats are dominating in that area like during the glory days of Bill Snyder, who valued a good long snapper the same as a skilled running back.
It’s hard to find a team with more game-changing plays on special teams than K-State this season. The Wildcats blocked a punt or a field goal in each of their first four games and then got 189 yards and two touchdowns from punt returner Phillip Brooks last week during a 55-14 drubbing of Kansas. They rank second nationally in special teams efficiency, according to ESPN, among teams that have played multiple games.
K-State is living up to the nickname “Special Teams U.”
That is surprising given how much things have changed in other areas during Klieman’s first two years in Manhattan. He got his start in the business as a defensive assistant at Northern Iowa and primarily focused on that side of the ball until he was elevated to head coach at North Dakota State in 2014. Even then, he spent the vast majority of his time on offense and defense. When it came to special teams, his only expectation was that they avoid major mistakes that could cost the Bison a game.
That philosophy helped him win enough FCS championships to get the K-State job. Few expected him to change his special teams approach when he arrived, especially when he decided against retaining accomplished assistant Sean Snyder as the unit’s coordinator. But Klieman has learned to embrace that part of the game.
Why? He has an informative answer to share.
“When we were at North Dakota State, we were better than everybody on offense and defense,” Klieman said. “So why would we waste an opportunity on roughing a kid? Here, it’s much more competitive offensively and defensively. You may not have an advantage on some of those things, so you better find a way to have an advantage on a week in week out basis. So we collectively as a staff are going to put a lot more time into special teams than we think a lot of people are, because it has to be the edge.
“We aren’t favored in many games. I don’t know if you knew that. We are usually the underdog in most games. So you better win on special teams. My previous place, we were favored by four and five touchdowns every time we played so you didn’t need to be as dominant on special teams.
“Our kids know that our ability to win that battle on those special teams and win that phase every week gives us a tremendous opportunity in the fourth quarter of games.”
The dividends are already paying off. K-State capitalized on blocked punts during come-from-behind victories against Oklahoma and Texas Tech. The Wildcats survived a low-scoring game at TCU thanks in part to a blocked field goal. And Brooks led them to a 34-7 halftime lead against KU in a game that was statistically even in terms of offensive yardage.
Unsung players like Brock Monty were celebrated for laying out a KU punter with a key block. Brooks, a sophomore receiver, got the game ball without catching a single pass.
The entire team also recognized special teams quality control coach Stanton Weber afterward. As a former player that once thrived on punt and kickoff coverage, he deserves credit for helping the Wildcats continue to succeed in that area as K-State’s 10 assistants combine to coach different areas of the unit.
“We couldn’t do many of the things we do without Stanton’s work behind the scenes,” K-State assistant head coach Van Malone said. “He does a great job of digging out tips, helping us as coaches to find things to give to our players, coming up with a plan and critiquing opponents and scouting opponents. That’s been a big-time importance for us as we’ve gone throughout the season.”
More big plays are probably on the horizon.
Klieman learned to embrace special teams at K-State, and it is once again a game-winning edge for the Wildcats.
This story was originally published October 29, 2020 at 11:48 AM with the headline "Why Chris Klieman radically changed his special teams philosophy at Kansas State."