Kansas State has the perfect hire lined up as Chris Klieman is reportedly set to retire

This season was a massive disappointment for Kansas State as the year started with a loss in Dublin and quickly spiraled as a year that started with Playoff hopes ended with the team finishing 6-6 and 5-4 in conference play. As the team rallied late in the season to salvage bowl eligibility, no one expected that it would be Chris Klieman's final season.

On Wednesday as the chaos of the Early Signing Period was beginning, On3 shared a report that Chris Klieman is set to announce his retirement with the perfect replacement lined up for the future.

Hiring Collin Klein would be a home run for the Wildcats

If Chris Klieman truly does decide to call it a career, hiring Collin Klein to replace him would be the perfect hire for Kansas State. Hiring an alum to lead the program best sets Kansas State up for long-term success as we saw this coaching carousel with Kenny Dillingham, Kalani Sitake, Brent Key, and Clark Lea among others that alumni aren't leaving their alma mater.

Collin Klein enjoyed a decorated career as a player at Kansas State with a stellar 55 rushing touchdowns as a quarterback. In the short term, pairing him with Avery Johnson would bring the most out of Kansas State's quarterback as Klein knows best what would work for him.

From 2017-2023, Klein spent time coaching at Kansas State first as the quarterbacks coach working his way up to Offensive Coordinator under Bill Snyder before being removed as Offensive Coordinator by Klieman and elevated once again in 2022.

The past two seasons, Collin Klein has served as Mike Elko's Offensive Coordinator at Texas A&M working with another dynamic rusher in Marcel Reed. The Aggies offense currently ranks 16th in points per game, 34th in passing yards per game, and 26th in rushing yards per game.