Chris Klieman Background
Chris Klieman is 118-28 (80.8%) overall, 46-26 (63.9%) in the FBS (Big 12). He has been coaching since 2005, with head coaching stints at FCS North Dakota State and FBS Kansas State. He won 4 NCAA FCS national championships, 5 MVFC championships, and 1 Big 12 championship. His big game experience includes wins over #20 Arizona in 2024 as #14, #20 Oklahoma State as #23, #25 Kansas in 2023 as #21, and #18 NC State as #25. He kept the game close in 2023 with a 30-33 OT loss to #7 Texas.
Klieman does not come from a pedigreed coaching tree, so it can be hard to guess which coaches and which offensive/defensive styles he would bring.
Offense
Kansas State head coach Chris Klieman's offensive style focuses on simplifying the playbook and finding plays where the team can excel. He also emphasizes the importance of the ground game, and how it can open up passing opportunities. Here are some other aspects of Klieman's offensive style:
Running back
Klieman views the running back as the anchor of the offense, and expects other players to step up if the running back is taken away by the defense.
Dual-threat quarterback
Klieman believes that the running game can make the dual-threat quarterback more successful.
Offensive line coach
Klieman has given offensive line coach Conor Riley the responsibility of calling plays for the first time.
Potential Offensive Coaches
Matt Wells (AHC/ Co-OC/ QBC) is in his first year as Co-OC at Kansas State under Klieman. He has been head coach at Utah State (2013-2018) and Texas Tech (2019-2021) and could be considered as part of the Brent Venables coaching tree.
Conor Riley (Co-OC/ OLC) has been coaching offensive line for 22 years and is in his 6th year at Kansas State. He has followed Klieman around since 2013 and would very likely follow him to a new team.
Collin Klein was OC and QBC at Kansas State from 2017-2023 before taking a position as OC/QBC at Texas A&M in 2024.
Brian Anderson has been Klieman's RBC since 2019. He has also coached wide receivers or running backs at Western Illinois, Southern Illinois, Northern Illinois, Minnesota, and Illinois State since 1995.
Defense
Klieman is known for making adjustments to help his team, and he's not afraid to try new things. For example, he's switched the defense from a 4-2-5 scheme to a 3-3-5 formation, and he's become more aggressive on fourth downs.
Potential Defensive Coordinators
Joe Klanderman has been safeties coach for Klieman since 2014 and DC since 2019.
Van Malone has coached cornerbacks for Klieman since 2019 and was promoted to Assistant Head Coach/ Defensive Passing Game Coordinator/ Cornerbacks Coach in 2020. Malone has also coached at North Dakot, Western Michigan, North Texas, Texas A&M, Tulsa, Oklahoma State, SMU, and Mississippi State since 2003.