Kansas State football offensive coordinator Collin Klein headed to Texas A&M
MANHATTAN — Kansas State football offensive coordinator Collin Klein turned down previous offers to leave his alma mater.
He finally got an offer that was too good to refuse.
Klein, a rising star in the coaching profession after two seasons as K-State's offensive coordinator, decided Tuesday after interviewing for a similar position at Texas A&M that he will join new Aggies head coach Mike Elko in College Station, a source confirmed Wednesday.
GoPowercat.com reported Klein's decision early Wednesday morning. Matt Musil, a Houston television reporter with KHOU in Houston, posted on social media Tuesday night that Klein had been offered the job.
Klein's departure leaves K-State head coach Chris Klieman to find a new offensive coordinator for the second time in two years. In December 2021 he appointed Klein interim coordinator for the Texas Bowl and then promoted him to the job full time shortly thereafter.
Related: How Collin Klein has managed to keep crowded Kansas State football quarterback room intact
Klein, a former K-State star quarterback who has spent most of his coaching career with the Wildcats, had other opportunities to leave in the past year but turned down offers from both Notre Dame and Penn State. Elko was recently named head coach at A&M after two successful seasons at Duke.
After turning down the Notre Dame offer, Klein received a pay raise during the offseason, as did the other Wildcat assistants. He made $825,000 this year, but presumably is in line for a huge salary bump at Texas A&M, which has greater financial resources.
Klein joined the K-State staff as quarterbacks coach under Bill Snyder in 2017 and was co-offensive coordinator in 2018. He remained on staff when Chris Klieman took over as head coach following Snyder's retirement at the end of the 2019 season.
Klein got his start in coaching under Snyder in 2014, serving as assistant recruiting director and defensive quality control assistant, and then was offensive graduate assistant the following year. He got his first full-time job as quarterbacks coach at Northern Iowa in 2016, his only season not at K-State.
The Wildcats' offense had two successful seasons with Klein in charge, averaging 418.8 yards and 32.3 points per game on the way to a 10-4 record and a Big 12 championship in 2022, and then topping it this season 446.1 yards and 37.8 points per contest.
More: Why Kansas State football offensive coordinator Collin Klein is ready to use all three QBs
Klein tutored successful K-State quarterbacks Skylar Thompson, now with the Miami Dolphins, and Will Howard, who recently entered the transfer portal ahead of the Wildcats' Dec. 28 Pop-Tarts Bowl appearance in Orlando, Florida.
While Klieman could promote from within — longtime Klieman assistant Conor Riley, the Wildcats' offensive line coach is one possible candidate — he also must find a quarterbacks coach who can work well with true freshman Avery Johnson. Johnson, whom Klein recruited out of Maize High School, will start the Pop-Tarts Bowl at quarterback after Howard decided to leave, and presumably will be behind center full time starting next year.
As a K-State player, Klein led the Wildcats to a 21-5 record as the starting quarterback in 2011 and 2012, leading them to a Big 12 championship and Fiesta Bowl invitation as a senior in 2012. He also was the Johnny Unitas Award winner and a Heisman Trophy finalist in 2012.
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's Collin Klein to be new OC at Texas A&M
