Kansas State promotes former star quarterback Collin Klein to offensive coordinator
It didn’t take long for Kansas State football coach Chris Klieman to hire a new offensive coordinator.
Three days after the Wildcats’ season came to an end with a 42-20 victory over LSU, he decided to hand over control of the offense to the man who orchestrated that dominant performance at the Texas Bowl.
Collin Klein, a former star quarterback and assistant coach at K-State, was promoted to offensive coordinator on a full-time basis on Friday. Many viewed his time as interim OC leading up to the bowl game as a test of his coordinator skills, and he passed it with flying colors when the Wildcats piled up 442 yards and a season-high 42 points against the Tigers.
“Over the course of the last month, Collin displayed the type of leadership and planning that put us in a position to execute and be successful in the bowl game against LSU,” Klieman said in a statement. “He deserves this opportunity, and the constant dialogue and communication that he had with me and with our staff and players throughout the game and the entire bowl preparation period was something that really impressed me. Collin bleeds purple, and I am excited for him to lead our offense.”
Klein took over as interim offensive coordinator shortly after Courtney Messingham was relieved of his play-calling duties at the conclusion of the regular season.
Contract details were not yet released, but Klein was making $325,000 annually as quarterbacks coach and Messingham had earned $625,000 a year as coordinator.
Klein’s presence at bowl practices seemed to fire up players, and they gave him rave reviews after the Texas Bowl.
“We were just firing on all cylinders,” quarterback Skylar Thompson said. “You could feel the aggressiveness of Coach Klein’s play calling ... I was so excited to get there and go play for him, just because we know each other so well. In the flow of the game, I knew what he was going to call before we called it and he just kept us attacking by by his play calls and didn’t allow us to take our foot off the gas at all.”
Klein is one of the best quarterbacks in school history before he graduated in 2012.
He was a finalist for the Heisman Trophy as a senior and he also led the Wildcats to 21 victories, two major bowls and a conference championship during his two seasons as a full-time starter.
Klein quickly began coaching after he was unable to make a NFL roster, working at Northern Iowa and then K-State as an assistant who tutored quarterbacks.
His time with the K-State football team has contained many chapters. He is about to start another, more prominent one.
“My family and I are excited to serve in this new role and impact young men through the game of football,” Klein said. “I absolutely love our players, staff and fans. We look forward to this challenge and are so thankful to Coach Klieman and our leadership for entrusting me with this responsibility. K-State is and has been a special part of our family, and we are so blessed the Lord has allowed us to continue to be a part of it.”
This story was originally published January 7, 2022 at 1:13 PM with the headline "Kansas State promotes former star quarterback Collin Klein to offensive coordinator."