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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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OXFORD, MS – OCTOBER 28: Head Coach Bret Bielema of the Arkansas Razorbacks yells to a official during a game against the Ole Miss Rebels at Hemingway Stadium on October 28, 2017 in Oxford, Mississippi. The Razorbacks defeated the Rebels 38-37. (Photo by Wesley Hitt/Getty Images)
OXFORD, MS – OCTOBER 28: Head Coach Bret Bielema of the Arkansas Razorbacks yells to a official during a game against the Ole Miss Rebels at Hemingway Stadium on October 28, 2017 in Oxford, Mississippi. The Razorbacks defeated the Rebels 38-37. (Photo by Wesley Hitt/Getty Images) /

3. Bret Bielema

There has been a great relationship between Bret Bielema and Bill Snyder since Bielema served as Snyder’s defensive coordinator in 2002 and 2003. Bielema, another former Iowa player, spent the 2018 season with the New England Patriots as a consultant to head coach Bill Belichick after his disappointing tenure as head coach at Arkansas. Bielema is a good coach and his connections to Kansas State should have administrators at least giving him a look as a possible replacement.

Bielema played at Iowa from 1989 to 1992 and became a graduate assistant for Hayden Fry for the 1994 and 1995 seasons. In 1996, he was promoted to linebackers coach, and was one of the few holdovers to last on Kirk Ferentz’s inital staff in 1999. Following the 2001 season, Bielema became Bill Snyder’s defensive coordinator for two seasons before becoming Barry Alvarez’s defensive coordinator at Wisconsin, and eventually head coach of the Badgers for seven seasons.

Bielema philosophy isn’t about airing it out and scoring a boatload of points, which is why he could be very successful at Kansas State. Look no further than what Matt Campbell has done at Iowa State. A defense first mindset can be successful in the Big 12, and at Kansas State, if Bielema average seven or eight wins a season, I don’t think many would complain about that.

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