A Dream Come True

By: D. Scott Fritchen

Thirteen years to the month that Collin Klein stood upon a stage near midfield and hoisted the 2012 Big 12 Championship trophy to a sell-out crowd at Bill Snyder Family Stadium, the former Heisman Trophy finalist, after a decade-long gridiron journey that included coaching positions at K-State, Northern Iowa and Texas A&M, stands inside the Morgan Family Arena. He wears a dark suit and stands with his family, whose smiles warm over an exuberant crowd of supporters — some remembering the glorious past, others pondering the future, and still others staring in disbelief at the sight of the 36-year-old, a K-State favorite son, who starred under Bill Snyder, coached under Chris Klieman, and now finds himself back at home — carrying a new title.

Collin Klein.

Head Football Coach.

Kansas State University.

The smoke that shot high into the air during an elongated procession down a purple carpet, and the Pride of Wildcatland's rendition of "Wildcat Victory," has died down. In just a few moments, Klein will be alone, on a stage, in front of a microphone, and speak to the Wildcat Nation for the first time, the former football star in a No. 7 jersey, now grown into a leader of a coaching staff, of young men, and soon donning a purple visor on the sideline in front of sellout crowds at Bill Snyder Family Stadium.

The energy across the building is incredible.

"I love challenges," Klein says. "I love going and doing hard things. To take this program where it's never been is going to be hard, and I want it to be hard. I want it to be hard. I want it to be difficult. We're going attack it as a staff, with our players, as a fan base, and as an administration.

"We're going to take this program where it hasn't been before."

The day has been busy — an 8:45 a.m. flight from College Station to Manhattan followed by one meeting after another with interviews and photo shoots and a meeting with current players, followed by the introductory news conference at 4:00 p.m. It's a lot of moving around, a lot of handshakes, a lot of introductions, and a lot of new names — even though it's just been two years since Klein left his post as offensive coordinator and assumed the same position at Texas A&M.

It's been a long day, all right.

Klein doesn't blink.

"We're just getting started," he says at his introductory news conference.

He pauses and nods. The crowd cheers. His voice grows sterner.

He's not talking about the day. He's talking about the Klein era of K-State football.

"We're just getting started," he repeats.

The day begins shortly after the purple-trimmed Cessna Citation CJ4 reached the runway at the Kansas Jet Center in Manhattan on Friday at 10:23 a.m., and Klein in his dark suit stepped down upon a purple carpet with his family, hearing the K-State marching band blare "Wildcat Victory" as the cheerleaders danced and gathers cheered, the wide-eyed Klein, awash in emotions of being back in the Flint Hills, says, "It's surreal. I still feel like I'm going to wake up."

Surreal feelings have accompanied Klein's career as a player and as a coach. Recruited to K-State in 2009 as a wide receiver, the native of Loveland, Colorado, literally bled — from both elbows and sometimes a knee — for the Wildcats' success while setting records and taking the program to new heights.

Klein, who Snyder switched to quarterback in 2010, led K-State to a 21-5 record in 2011 and 2012 – which was highlighted by a No. 1 national ranking, a Big 12 Championship and berth in the Fiesta Bowl – while he won the 2012 Johnny Unitas Award and finished his career ranked in the top 10 in 34 different K-State game, season and career record categories. He was only the sixth player in Big 12 history to throw for 4,000 yards and rush for 2,000 in a career. He rushed for more touchdowns than any FBS quarterback in history in consecutive seasons. He was the first quarterback from a Power 5 school since 1998 to rush for at least 20 touchdowns and pass for 10 touchdowns in consecutive seasons. He passed marks by Cam Newton, Tim Tebow and Eric Crouch.

And he was inducted into the K-State Football Ring of Honor with the Class of 2022.

As Klein prepared to climb into the driver's seat of an awaiting white SUV outside the front doors to the jet center Friday morning, an old friend embraced the new head coach, and Klein whispered into his ear, his voice cracking, "This is a dream come true… I'm home."

Klein, of course, follows Klieman, who announced his retirement on Wednesday after leading K-State to 54 wins and six bowls and the 2022 Big 12 Championship in his seven seasons. Klein served as Kleiman's offensive coordinator in 2022 and 2023 prior to two seasons as offensive coordinator at Texas A&M, where he will continue to coach during the Aggies' postseason run.

Klein is the 36^th head coach in K-State history and is believed to be one of the youngest head coaches in K-State history, and he is the second head coach to follow Hall-of-Famer Bill Snyder, who engineered the single-greatest turnaround in the history of college football and won two Big 12 Championships — one with Consensus All-American Darren Sproles in 2003, and one with Klein, who is also one of the greatest players in school history.

During his introductory words as head coach, Klein, a 2025 Broyles Award Semifinalist as the top assistant coach in college football, praises both Klieman and Snyder along with Texas A&M head coach Mike Elko for his rise to coaching stardom.

"Coach Klieman, I know he's not here, but he's here in spirit — thank you," Klein says. "I'm not standing here today if it's not for Coach Klieman and his leadership and growth that he gave to me as coach by retaining me when Coach Snyder retired and promoting when the opportunity and fit was right for me to serve as offensive coordinator, and then as a mentor ever since. I've called him a couple times over the last two years, and that relationship is special, treasured and I'm so grateful for him and his stewardship of a program that means the world to me with the K-State values and traditions that he fostered so well."

Klein pauses. He sniffles. He looks at Snyder, who sits in the second row, directly in Klein's line of sight.

"Coach Snyder," Klein says, sniffling, "Thank you for creating that Powercat the year I was born."

Klein smiles as the crowd applauds.

"Thank you for establishing the foundation and a legacy of serving people, players, staff, faculty, community, and using the Kansas State football program as a vehicle to impact people's lives for the better. I can't thank you enough. I didn't know what that journey was going to look like when you came back, and it was one I wouldn't trade for the world."

Klein's world officially changes shortly after 11:30 a.m. Klein sits with K-State Athletic Director Gene Taylor in his spacious third-floor office in the corner of the Vanier Family Football Complex. Klein picks up a purple pen. And with Taylor wearing a wide smile, Klein signs his first contract as a college football head coach. It's a five-year contract with an average base salary of $4.3 million.

Outside, in the spacious foyer, Shalin Klein, Collin's wife of 12 years and daughter of former K-State great Gary Spani, watches on as sons Beric, Rhett and Trek, and daughter, Briar, play with small purple footballs, a couple boys tossing footballs into the air — less than 100 yards from the football field where their father became a hero.

Inside an empty K-State locker room, Hall-of-Famer Wyatt Thompson, the longtime Voice of the Wildcats, sits with Klein upon upright, padded chairs, as the cameras roll on Klein's first interview as head coach.

"Hi, everybody, I'm Voice of the Wildcats, Wyatt Thompson, joined by the 36^th head coach at Kansas State University, somebody you all know and love, Mr. Collin Klein."

Klein's 9-minute, 6-second interview concludes with a message to K-State fans.

"I'm just so grateful and so honored to be the head football coach here and getting to serve," Klein says. "This position has a legacy of service, of competitive greatness in bringing an edge and level of toughness and grit that is respected around the entire country, and that goes for every K-Stater that is and will be a part of this thing going forward.

"It's going to take all of us getting on board and us giving everything we have to go to places that we've never been. It's easy to talk about, to say, to pound a table at a press conference, but the bottom line is it's going to take a heck of a lot of work. That's what you're going to get from me."

It's 2:46 p.m., and it isn't hard to spot the venue for Klein's introductory news conference. A large gathering, several wearing No. 7 jerseys, stand in cold weather in the front the Morgan Family Arena, which shares a parking lot with Bill Snyder Family Stadium. Reporters from three TV stations interview a few of the gathers while Willie Wildcat makes a cameo in the background and pumps up the fans as they wait for the arena's doors to open. A gift shop employee holding a mountain of purple No. 7 jerseys disappears into the Rally House store just inside the arena's front doors.

The display for Klein's first news conference is expanse, purple and white Powercats dot the Daktronics electronic board, and "HEAD COACH COLLIN KLEIN" beams across in bright white. To the left rests the 2012 Big 12 Championship trophy. To the right rests the 2022 Big 12 Championship trophy. In the middle rests a single silver helmet with a purple Powercat. Above, at the top of the arena, a graphic features Klein in his signature purple visor and gray long-sleeve t-shirt slammed against a purple-uniformed Klein surveying the field with a football in his hands. "WECOME HOME COLLIN KLEIN," the video board reads.

At 3:20 p.m., the sound system at Morgan Family Arena unleashes a total vibe, as it belts the famous "Snyder Music" playlist, starting with Van Halen's hit song, "Right Now" — one of many 1980s songs that played across Bill Snyder Family Stadium for more than two decades, and which was a mainstay when Klein and his K-State teammates warmed up on the football field before home games. Moments later, a traditional K-State song, "Stand Up For The Champions," fills the arena as Snyder enters the arena in his customary dark suit and yellow tie, blowing kisses to an applauding crowd, as he finds his reserved seat with fellow dignitaries.

Willie Wildcat does the "K-S-U" chant to pump up a large crowd that lacks no energy, and a three-minute video montage of Klein's highlights as a player and coach beams across the video board, before a public-address announcer shouts, "K-STATE FAMILY, WELCOME HOME OUR FOOTBALL COACH, COLLIN KLEIN!" The Klein family walks upon purple carpet, surrounded by blasts of smoke and loud cheers, and a square-jawed Collin Klein appears eager to battle, as he did so many times in his playing career, as he make his way to the stage. Loud cheers. More loud cheers. Thirty seconds. Maybe a minute.

Dr. Richard Linton delivers an opening remark, "I tell you what, having an entrance like that, in my next life, I'm going to be a college football coach."

Then Taylor takes the microphone.

"What an awesome day," Taylor says. "I want to welcome Coach Snyder and his wife, Sharon, thank you very much for coming. I'd be remised if we don't have Coach Klieman to thank. I'd like you guys to give a big round of applause, even though he's not here, to Coach Klieman. We have current and former student-athletes, staff and coaches, and Golden Cats, please give them a round of applause. We have our deans and members of the cabinet on the K-State board.

"This might be the worst-kept coaching secret in America. Everybody knew we were going to hire this guy before I did. If I had not landed the Collin Klein plane, you guys would've run my (butt) out of Manhattan. I'm uncomfortable introducing him to you guys because most of the people in this room know him better than I do. I was going to go through all the accolades of how great of a player he was, Heisman Trophy finalist, one of the best offensive coordinators in the country currently, and humble as they come, but there couldn't have been a better fit for us.

"Obviously, when Coach Klieman walked in my office this week and we sat down and he told me what he was thinking, he told me, 'Gene, I think you need to call Collin Klein. Because I think he's the next person that needs to lead the football program.'"

Roger Maris hit 61 home runs in 1961. Babe Ruth hit 60 homers in 1927. Jimmie Foxx belted 58 in 1932.

Taylor needed just a single phone call to hit a home run felt across the state of Kansas, the Big 12 Conference, and the college football landscape in 2025.

"It was the weirdest interview I've ever had," Taylor says. "It wasn't like we interviewed. I called him up, we talked for a little bit, and I said, 'Am I supposed to offer you the job right now?' He said, 'Well, it'd be nice if you would.' I said, 'So if I offer you, are you going to take it?' He said, 'Yeah.' I said, 'Well, we didn't talk money or anything.' He said, 'Gene, I'm taking the job.'"

Klein rises from a chair on stage and shakes Taylor's hand, and Taylor hands Klein a purple visor. Together they hold up a purple No. 7 jersey.

Then, turning to the crowd for the first time as head football coach, Klein at 4:13 p.m. delivers his opening statement.

"Wow," Klein says. "I've told Shalin all week I think I just keep waiting to wake up, because this has just been such a dream come true on so many levels. It's just such a full-circle moment for us and our family. God's timing is perfect, and He opens the door, it opens, and I'm just so grateful for that.

"The thank-you list is long. First and foremost is my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and Him protecting and guiding me every step of my journey, and bringing me to K-State — Taylor Braet picked me up from the Holiday Inn in 2007 like he did this morning — and just protecting and guiding every phase of the journey from a player to a graduate assistant to a coach, and taking a few detours to learn and grow along the way. You never know what He has for your future and that path and how He's led us back here is something that's just so humbling."

Then Klein delivers what has to be one of the top monologues in K-State sports history.

"Kansas State football has stood for a lot of things, and if you ask anyone who has played against the Powercat for three decades, similar phrases come to the forefront," Klein says. "The competitive spirit that has been on our football team over the years and that our players have shown over and over again is different. It was different when teams played K-State and when we played other teams. When that ball went down, they had no idea what they were getting into. Coach Snyder knew a secret – it's not a complicated secret – but it is the secret, that when you stir the spirit of a young man, and you make it hard, and you make him go through difficulty and make him strive to overcome, the competitive stamina and the resistance that he has and is able to bring onto that field of battle is different. He started that in 1989 and ever since that day, that's been bred into every single one of us players that have come through his program.

"That is not going to change."

Klein is the first K-State alum to serve as head coach since Ellis Rainsberger from 1975-77. Klein helped K-State to 51 wins and five bowl games during his tenure as a full-time assistant coach. He helped guide K-State to a 19-8 mark and a Big 12 Championship during his two-year run as offensive coordinator.

"You look at toughness, and the ability and mental fortitude to play this game of football the way that it needs to be played is different," he says. "That has been bred and will continue to be bred into every Kansas State Wildcat. You talk about physicality, and this is a physical game. Some people like to visit physicality. We live there. Snap after snap after snap and week after week after week. I did a study this week of K-State's record in the month of November at the end of the season and it's off the charts. Why? It's because we're tough. We know how to finish, and we know how to go to a place and a level that most people don't even understand."

In his first full season as K-State offensive coordinator in 2022, Klein coached an offense that ranked in the top 10 in school history in 11 categories, including second in total yards (5,863) and plays (958), and fourth in rushing (2,916). The Wildcats finished the 2022 season with 421.6 yards per game — their most since 2014 — while their 32.3 points per game were the most by the squad since 2017. In Klein's second season as offensive coordinator, K-State ranked No. 10 nationally with 37.1 points per game, which marked the highest scoring average by a K-State team since Klein as a senior led the Wildcats to 38.9 points per game in 2012.

"We're going to be prepared," Klein says, pausing briefly in his introductory remarks. "The work and detail it takes to prepare a football top, top to bottom, we're not going to be in a hurry, we're not going to take shortcuts, we're going to do everything, and every little detail is going to be taken care of to make sure that our players know what is going to happen before it happens. They're going to know where they're going to line up, know their technique, know where their hand placement is, and they're going to be able to go with confidence into that snap knowing what that other guy is going to do before he does it. That's how you win fast."

Klein has had a tremendous impact while helping Texas A&M to a 11-1 record and a possible spot in the College Football Playoff. Klein engineers an Aggies' offense that ranks Top 30 nationally in scoring offense, total offense, rushing offense, passing offense, fourth-down percentage, sacks allowed, passing yards per completion, time of possession and first downs.

Klein's offense has hit the 400-yard mark in total offense 10 times in 12 games thus far in 2025.

"We're going to be resilient to adversity," he says. "I've always said what the game of football teaches you and what it turns you into is way more valuable than any trophy you can put in a case. I told the team that this afternoon. You have to learn how to pick yourself up from failure and how to not be afraid of failure and to put yourself out there again and again and again. Even in the moments of the greatest disappointment, when something doesn't go your way, you stay true to your values. I've told the story over and over that Coach Snyder instilled into us that no matter what happens, it's about how you respond to what happens to you in life, not the failure of the situation. That lesson is invaluable."

Klein, in the final game of his career at K-State, wore an armband. It read, "FAMILY." He expounds upon what it means to be a part of the K-State family.

"K-State is about family," he says. "It's about relationships and about people. It's about being able to touch and impact the guy next to you, the person next to you, to help make their life better. We've got the most dedicated, passionate fans in the country. Their unwavering support and family value system is perfectly aligned to what our program is all about."

Then Klein hammers home what is on the minds of most K-State fans, who have witnessed plenty of ups and a few downs over the years. Prior to the 6-6 record this season, K-State was one of 10 Power 4 teams to win at least nine games in each of the past three seasons. As for the last time K-State reached 11 wins? That last occurred in 2012 — Klein's senior season.

"What is our mission moving forward?" Klein says. "We're going to be the new old school, and we're going to stay true to a value system that has been in place for a very, very long time, and we're going to move our program forward and take the steps necessary to chase excellence in everything we do. We're going to love on our players. We're going to be elite relationship builders that strive, scratch and claw to make sure they know we, myself and our staff, have their backs no matter what. And we're going to do whatever it takes to help them become the best they can possibly be on and off the field.

"We're going to recruit, and we're going to be really, really aggressive in how we move this program forward, and we're going to be aggressive in this new era of college football. We'll target the right type of character individuals, get the right type of support and alignment so we can attract and attack the best talent in the country, so when that ball does go down, we can go toe-to-toe with anybody."

As for coaching?

"We're going to have a schematic advantage," Klein says. "If we're asking our players to give everything they possibly can, we as a coaching staff are going to do the exact same thing, and we're going to push the envelope of the edge schematically that we can attack people with on offense, defense and special teams, and their capacity to play fast, but also put a lot of stress on our opponent.

"We're going to be known for how hard we play and compete. It is going to be a day-in-day out on that practice field, a process inside of every single player, and finding work within them that they don't even know they can give.

"That will show up on Saturday afternoons."

Klein concludes by addressing the current state of college football.

"There's never been a more critical time in college football of more volatility, more uncertainty, and we have to attack this thing head on, and it's going to take all of us," he says. "Every single one of us in here have something to give to help take this program where we need it to go. I told our players this afternoon they're going to get every ounce that I have to move this program forward in every single area."

Klein is home.

And he's just getting started.

Kansas State University Athletics

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