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Kansas State Football: 5 possible candidates to replace Bill Snyder

By Quinn Douglas

AUSTIN, TX - OCTOBER 07: Head coach Bill Snyder of the Kansas State Wildcats greets Tyler Burns #33 before the game against the Texas Longhorns at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium on October 7, 2017 in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Tim Warner/Getty Images)
AUSTIN, TX - OCTOBER 07: Head coach Bill Snyder of the Kansas State Wildcats greets Tyler Burns #33 before the game against the Texas Longhorns at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium on October 7, 2017 in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Tim Warner/Getty Images) /
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LEXINGTON, KY – NOVEMBER 17: Mark Stoops the head coach of the Kentucky Wildcats watches the action against the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders at Commonwealth Stadium on November 17, 2018 in Lexington, Kentucky. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
LEXINGTON, KY – NOVEMBER 17: Mark Stoops the head coach of the Kentucky Wildcats watches the action against the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders at Commonwealth Stadium on November 17, 2018 in Lexington, Kentucky. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images) /

4. Mark Stoops

Mark is the only one of the three Stoops brothers who coach or have coached at the FBS level to have not been an assistant for Bill Snyder, but did play at Iowa when Snyder was still the offensive coordinator under Hayden Fry. However, Stoops could be lured to Manhattan with the right deal as football is of greater importance at Kansas State than it is at Kentucky. Stoops also has a relationship with Snyder’s old offensive coordinator Dana Dimel as well.

Following his playing days at Iowa, he became a grad assistant for Hayden Fry for two years before coaching at the high school ranks. Stoops then bounced around at a couple mid-major programs as a defensive backs coach with Dana Dimel before getting a big break as defensive backs coach at Miami, during his tenure coaching legends such as Ed Reed, Antrel Rolle and the late Sean Taylor.

Stoops then became defensive coordinator at Arizona for his brother Mike for five seasons and was then hired as defensive coordinator at Florida State under Jimbo Fisher. Following the 2013 season, Stoops became head coach at Kentucky and has led the Wildcats to a 35-39 record, but had them a win away from clinching the SEC East this season.

While it’s likely hard to picture Stoops leaving a rising program in the SEC like Kentucky, you can lure anyone away with the right deal in place.

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