K-State coach Chris Klieman explains why he keeps skipping his weekly radio show
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Klieman delegated weekly radio appearances to assistants as a preseason plan.
- Coach frames the rotation as staff development, not avoidance of questions.
- Klieman accepts responsibility for losses and vows to remain steady with players.
Under normal circumstances, few would notice or care that Chris Klieman has asked his assistant coaches to fill in for him on his weekly radio show a few times this season.
But these are not normal circumstances for the Kansas State football team.
The Wildcats (2-4, 1-2 Big 12) are in danger of missing out on bowl eligibility after being ranked No. 17 in the preseason polls. And some fans in EMAW nation are beginning to wonder if there is something to the head coach skipping his own radio show in front of a friendly audience at Powercat Sports Grill.
With that in mind, Klieman addressed his absences during his weekly news conference Monday.
“That wasn’t scheduled because we’re 2-4,” Klieman said. “That was scheduled all summer long. One of the things that is my job as the head coach is to get young assistants ... and prepare people to become head coaches. You don’t do it by sitting behind your desk. You do it by coming in and taking questions and putting yourself in that position.
“I think it’s important that I give other people an opportunity to do what a head coach does, and we’re going to continue to do that. But that has nothing to do with how our season is going.”
Klieman said he exchanged emails with K-State play-by-play announcer Wyatt Thompson, who serves as host for Klieman’s weekly radio show, during the summer and they set up a rotation of different coaches for the show this year.
Thompson confirmed that was the case and said it has been fun for him to interview multiple K-State coaches this season.
Offensive coordinator Matt Wells and assistant head coach Van Malone have already made appearances. Defensive coordinator Joe Klanderman and other assistants are expected to fill in for Klieman as the season continues.
In the past, Klieman has mostly handled the radio show all by himself. But coordinators have filled in from time to time.
Klieman said he wanted to take a different approach this year.
“I firmly believe that we have a great staff, because of the trials and tribulations that we’ve gone through,” Klieman said. “Now let’s give these guys an opportunity to grow in the profession.”
Klieman wants to make it clear that he is not trying to avoid questions from the fan base during difficult times.
To his credit, he has taken the blame for every K-State football loss this season. And he doesn’t plan to change that approach anytime soon.
“I’m going to be the rock for this team,” Klieman said. “I will take all the hits and all the bullets and all the things, because that’s my job. I have no problem doing that, because if those kids keep laying it on the line, I’ll live with the results. I know the results are going to change. I know it’s going to continue to get better.
“But for me to come in here and be all sulky and, boy, ‘poor us,’ that isn’t getting it done. I tell the guys all the time, whether we’re 11-0 or whether we’re 8-4 or whether we’re 2-4, I can’t change as a leader of this operation.”
This story was originally published October 7, 2025 at 6:00 AM with the headline "K-State coach Chris Klieman explains why he keeps skipping his weekly radio show."