Where does Kansas State coach Bill Snyder rank among best coaches ever?

Kansas State football is known because of one man, Bill Snyder. But where does his legacy rank among the game’s best coaches of all-time?

Kansas State isn’t one of college football’s premier blue blood programs. However, they do have one of college football’s most revered coaches in Bill Snyder.

Snyder’s win-loss record is in the top 20 all time at 193-101-1. During his tenure, he’s taken K-State to 17 of its 19 bowl game appearances. That’s unbelievable considering he’s just one head coach in the program’s 104-year history. At 76, He’s obviously close to the end of his coaching career. So where should he rank in terms of his college football coaching legacy?

In reference to his building of a program, there aren’t too many who have done better. Kansas State was a combined 257-483-34 before Snyder came to Manhattan, Kansas. For those of you calculating at home, that’s a win percentage of just 33. That’s just an awful program.

Related Story: 30 Best College Head Coaches of All-Time

Snyder took this lowly program and turned them into a team that wins 65 percent of its games. The most impressive aspect of his improvement is the ability to play this well in a power five conference. The Big Eight, now the Big 12, had three of the top teams in the nation when he took over in 1989. Colorado, Nebraska and Oklahoma dominated the Big eight. Kansas State was an afterthought. They struggled to get wins, in fact, they had just one bowl appearance before he arrived.

More from Big 12

• Things are going to get much darker for the Houston Cougars
• College Football Playoff: Projected top 4 after Week 3
• Kansas State football: 3 takeaways from road loss to Missouri
• Was Iowa State football robbed of crucial FG by refs?
• College Football Hot Seat: 5 Coaches who must win in Week 3

It took him just three seasons to get the Wildcats their first seven-win season since 1954. And in two more years, the Wildcats became a perennial winner. Then began one of the most impressive runs in coaching history. In the 11 seasons from 1993 to 2003, the Wildcats didn’t have a losing season. In that time, Snyder would record six seasons of 11 wins. A major accomplishment for a team without an 11-win season prior.

There are few schools that can boast such a major change in a few years. The crowning accolade of his career came after his lowest of lows. His run as Kansas State’s head coach would come to end in 2005 after two losing seasons. Still, his 16 years at Kansas State weren’t over. New head coach Ron Prince drove the Wildcats deeper into the Big 12 cellar. By 2008 the Wildcat faithful had seen enough. Prince was fired and Snyder triumphantly returned.

More from Saturday Blitz

• Michigan State vs. Maryland: Location, time, prediction, and more
• ACC Power Rankings: Can #4 FSU overthrow Clemson at Death Valley East?
• Most heartwarming social media reactions to Nick Chubb’s injury
• Ranking college football’s top 10 quarterbacks after Week 3
• Things are going to get much darker for the Houston Cougars

Almost into his 70s, fans wondered if he could he work in one more revitalization of the program. But he delivered in a big way. Since his reunion tour, he has gone 57-33. He just finds ways to win despite being in his third different decade of coaching.

There are multiple other coaches who have turned programs around. Lavell Edwards at BYU and Frank Beamer at Virginia Tech are great examples. Virginia Tech was just an average college program before Beamer’s arrival. But, he managed to turn them into a national power. They weren’t as bad off as Kansas State, but they were average when he was given the reigns.

Edwards took over a below average Cougars’ program and turned them into national champs. BYU did have 16 winning seasons before Edwards. They weren’t doormats like Kansas State was.

Snyder should receive more credit as a head coach. He should be viewed as a top-three coach in terms of building programs. Most winning coaches have a tradition that stems from winning. Beamer created bone crushing special teams play with “Beamer Ball”. Edwards embraced the Run N’ Shoot offense.

Snyder personifies class and old school football. Kansas State has always been more about playing the right way than winning. His old-fashioned touch in an era dominated by new age coaches is a joy to watch.

must read: Big 12 Football: 50 best players of all-time

After all these years, he has managed to win any era. He hasn’t had to sacrifice his strict rules or disciplinarian style. He has won his way with his player’s and that’s something that college football looks to be lacking.