SE: Klieman’s Love for Players a Pillar of Program’s Culture, Success
Jan 07, 2019 | Football, Sports Extra
By Corbin McGuire
FRISCO, TEXAS — From the first time Chris Klieman sat in Easton Stick's living room in Omaha, Nebraska, the young quarterback felt comfortable.
There was a realness about the North Dakota State coach that separated him from the many others who sat in the same spot, asking Stick the same thing.
"You could tell he genuinely cared about you," Stick said. "And that stood out to me."
Stick's official visit to Fargo, North Dakota, confirmed his gut feeling about Klieman. He followed it to an unforgettable career.
"When you get on campus, he doesn't change," Stick said. "He's the same man."
The same man who helped convince Stick and 23 other NDSU seniors to come to Fargo four or five years ago celebrated alongside them on Saturday as the Bison topped Eastern Washington, 38-24, in the FCS National Championship game.
He, in many ways, was their 25th senior.
Klieman was named K-State's head coach in December, in between NDSU's quarterfinal and semifinal victories. But it was important to him to finish the season with the first class of players he put together when he took over as NDSU's head coach in 2014. His players wanted the same.
It would not have felt right for him to step away before their mission of an undefeated season — the fifth team ever to do so in FCS history — was complete. They came in together. They had to go out together. A championship, Klieman's fourth in five seasons as head coach and North Dakota State's seventh in eight, was the perfect sendoff.
"I'm so appreciative of the people at North Dakota State, (K-State Athletics Director) Gene Taylor and the people at Kansas State for allowing me to finish this journey because those guys are really special to me," Klieman, 69-6 in his five seasons as NDSU's head coach, said after the game. "They know how much I love them. I was a senior today as well."
K-State, its players and fans, will get to know Klieman more closely in the months and years to come. Stick, NDSU's All-American quarterback, offered them a preview of what to expect.
"You're getting a great man, one that's going to live his life with great integrity," Stick, who became the all-time winningest quarterback in FCS history with 49 wins to only three losses as the Bison starter, said. "You're going to be part of his family. He's going to care about you and push you and challenge you and hold you accountable more than anybody else. As an athlete, as a competitor, as a man, what more could you ask for? They're really lucky to have him."
Jabril Cox, a sophomore All-American linebacker out of Raytown South High School in Kansas City, Missouri, painted a similar picture of Klieman. He said his best memories with Klieman took place in his office, that their relationship extended far beyond the field and film room.
"Coming up to his office, talking to him whenever I need to; him being able to listen to me whenever I need, that's what sticks out the most. He's meant so much to me. He's taught me things that I never knew, on the field and off the field," Cox said. "They're getting a players' coach, one that cares about them, one that will know everybody's name and that is just there for you.
"We're just glad to have him end on a W, go to K-State, (where) we wish him nothing but success."
Klieman's success has largely been a product of how he treats not only his players but also his staff members and people, in general, really. It's a big reason why four of his assistants at NDSU — Courtney Messingham, Conor Riley, Jason Ray and Joe Klanderman — showed zero hesitation and instant excitement in following him to K-State.
"I think he genuinely cares about people. I think he genuinely cares about coaches on his staff and he genuinely cares about the players. There's no phoniness. It just is what it is, and that's what makes him special," Klanderman, who will coach safeties at K-State, said. "I wouldn't want to work for anybody else, for the aforementioned reasons. He cares about you, does the right thing and does it the right way."
"I think Coach Klieman has done a great job of hiring people here that really understand that it's really more about the people and the process than it is about winning. You let winning somewhat take care of itself if you get the right people in place and you understand the processes to keep," Messingham, K-State's new offensive coordinator, added. "That opportunity to go with a bunch of guys that have the same mindset of how the people have to be important, family has to be important, it's just going to be a really, really exciting and fun time."
Part of the fun will be found in building a similar culture at K-State. The one Klieman left at NDSU, which now has more FCS titles (7) than any other school in NCAA history, certainly was not built overnight, in one season or even by one coach. It took several years of players buying into the man in the front of the locker room and his messages, which, for Klieman, centered around attacking each day, doing it for their teammates and the alumni who came before them. And doing it every day.
It's not easy to traverse, but the path to greatness is one Klieman knows well. He said he plans to use his knowledge of it in living rooms of recruits and in front of K-State's players as soon as possible.
"I think it's really important, the parallels," he said. "Look at what our kids at North Dakota State did. This is what I'm asking the kids at Kansas State to do: Buy into the new voice in the front of the room, buy into the culture, buy into the program, do it for the guy next to you, hold each other to a high standard, hold each other to a high accountability, and you have to do it on a daily basis.
"I'm excited for the journey. I'm excited for the challenge."
FRISCO, TEXAS — From the first time Chris Klieman sat in Easton Stick's living room in Omaha, Nebraska, the young quarterback felt comfortable.
There was a realness about the North Dakota State coach that separated him from the many others who sat in the same spot, asking Stick the same thing.
"You could tell he genuinely cared about you," Stick said. "And that stood out to me."
Stick's official visit to Fargo, North Dakota, confirmed his gut feeling about Klieman. He followed it to an unforgettable career.
"When you get on campus, he doesn't change," Stick said. "He's the same man."
The same man who helped convince Stick and 23 other NDSU seniors to come to Fargo four or five years ago celebrated alongside them on Saturday as the Bison topped Eastern Washington, 38-24, in the FCS National Championship game.
Klieman gave emphatic high fives, hugs and fist pumps the whole game. After it ended, his name was chanted by a sea of thousands of green-and-gold Bison fans."You're getting a great man, one that's going to live his life with great integrity."
— K-State Football (@KStateFB) January 5, 2019
What the 'Cats will get with @coachkli, from @NDSUfootball QB Easton Stick's perspective #KStateFB #WinTheDangDay pic.twitter.com/J6BMkQihQV
He, in many ways, was their 25th senior.
Klieman was named K-State's head coach in December, in between NDSU's quarterfinal and semifinal victories. But it was important to him to finish the season with the first class of players he put together when he took over as NDSU's head coach in 2014. His players wanted the same.
It would not have felt right for him to step away before their mission of an undefeated season — the fifth team ever to do so in FCS history — was complete. They came in together. They had to go out together. A championship, Klieman's fourth in five seasons as head coach and North Dakota State's seventh in eight, was the perfect sendoff.
"I'm so appreciative of the people at North Dakota State, (K-State Athletics Director) Gene Taylor and the people at Kansas State for allowing me to finish this journey because those guys are really special to me," Klieman, 69-6 in his five seasons as NDSU's head coach, said after the game. "They know how much I love them. I was a senior today as well."
K-State, its players and fans, will get to know Klieman more closely in the months and years to come. Stick, NDSU's All-American quarterback, offered them a preview of what to expect.
"You're getting a great man, one that's going to live his life with great integrity," Stick, who became the all-time winningest quarterback in FCS history with 49 wins to only three losses as the Bison starter, said. "You're going to be part of his family. He's going to care about you and push you and challenge you and hold you accountable more than anybody else. As an athlete, as a competitor, as a man, what more could you ask for? They're really lucky to have him."
Jabril Cox, a sophomore All-American linebacker out of Raytown South High School in Kansas City, Missouri, painted a similar picture of Klieman. He said his best memories with Klieman took place in his office, that their relationship extended far beyond the field and film room.
"Coming up to his office, talking to him whenever I need to; him being able to listen to me whenever I need, that's what sticks out the most. He's meant so much to me. He's taught me things that I never knew, on the field and off the field," Cox said. "They're getting a players' coach, one that cares about them, one that will know everybody's name and that is just there for you.
"We're just glad to have him end on a W, go to K-State, (where) we wish him nothing but success."
Klieman's success has largely been a product of how he treats not only his players but also his staff members and people, in general, really. It's a big reason why four of his assistants at NDSU — Courtney Messingham, Conor Riley, Jason Ray and Joe Klanderman — showed zero hesitation and instant excitement in following him to K-State.
"I think he genuinely cares about people. I think he genuinely cares about coaches on his staff and he genuinely cares about the players. There's no phoniness. It just is what it is, and that's what makes him special," Klanderman, who will coach safeties at K-State, said. "I wouldn't want to work for anybody else, for the aforementioned reasons. He cares about you, does the right thing and does it the right way."
"I think Coach Klieman has done a great job of hiring people here that really understand that it's really more about the people and the process than it is about winning. You let winning somewhat take care of itself if you get the right people in place and you understand the processes to keep," Messingham, K-State's new offensive coordinator, added. "That opportunity to go with a bunch of guys that have the same mindset of how the people have to be important, family has to be important, it's just going to be a really, really exciting and fun time."
Part of the fun will be found in building a similar culture at K-State. The one Klieman left at NDSU, which now has more FCS titles (7) than any other school in NCAA history, certainly was not built overnight, in one season or even by one coach. It took several years of players buying into the man in the front of the locker room and his messages, which, for Klieman, centered around attacking each day, doing it for their teammates and the alumni who came before them. And doing it every day.
It's not easy to traverse, but the path to greatness is one Klieman knows well. He said he plans to use his knowledge of it in living rooms of recruits and in front of K-State's players as soon as possible.
"I think it's really important, the parallels," he said. "Look at what our kids at North Dakota State did. This is what I'm asking the kids at Kansas State to do: Buy into the new voice in the front of the room, buy into the culture, buy into the program, do it for the guy next to you, hold each other to a high standard, hold each other to a high accountability, and you have to do it on a daily basis.
"I'm excited for the journey. I'm excited for the challenge."
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