Kansas State football coach Chris Klieman adds a veteran special teams coach to his staff
MANHATTAN — The timing was right, both for Kansas State football coach Chris Klieman and his latest staff hire.
With the recent departure of Chili Davis for the National Football League, Klieman had an opening for a special teams assistant, and on the day before spring practice, he found what appears to be a perfect fit.
Nate Kaczor, a Scott City native with over 30 years of experience at the college and professional level, will be the Wildcats' new special teams analyst.
Kaczor, 56, crossed path with current K-State assistants Matt Wells and Mike Tuiasosopo at Utah State in the 1990s. But, more importantly, spent the past 16 years in the NFL, 11 as special teams coordinator with the Tennessee Titans, Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Washington Commanders.
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"What a coup for us to get a guy that's got as much experience as he does in the National Football League, and he's from Scott City, Kansas," Klieman said of Kaczor. "He wanted to come back to the great state of Kansas and be a part of the Wildcats."
Klieman does not employ a special teams coordinator as part of his full-time staff, which made landing someone with Kaczor's credentials all the more appealing. K-State has long been known for its devotion to special teams, first under Bill Snyder and then Klieman for the past five seasons.
Kaczor, who is expected to arrive in Manhattan this week for the start of spring drills, played at Utah State and then started his coaching career there in 1991. His other college stops included Nebraska-Kearney, Idaho and Louisiana-Monroe.
Kaczor made the jump to the NFL in 2008, spending three years as special teams assistant with the Jacksonville Jaguars before joining the Tennessee Titans as assistant offensive line coach and a year later taking over as special teams coordinator. He followed that with a three-year stint at Tampa Bay and the past five with Washington.
Arne Green is based in Salina and covers Kansas State University sports for the Gannett network. He can be reached at agreen@gannett.com or on Twitter at @arnegreen.
This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Kansas State football coach Chris Klieman hires special teams analyst
