How K-State keeps retaining Chris Klieman while his name is mentioned for other jobs

It’s getting hard to keep track of all the times that Kansas State football coach Chris Klieman has been mentioned as a desirable candidate for other prominent jobs across the sport.

Every time a traditional power from the Big Ten or SEC parts ways with its head coach and begins searching for a replacement, Klieman’s name is sure to follow.

It happened when the Nebraska job came open last season. Same story with Michigan State, Texas A&M and Washington this cycle. There were even some who thought Klieman was an option to replace Nick Saban at Alabama. If Jim Harbaugh leaves for the NFL, Klieman will probably be mentioned at Michigan, too.

Despite all that attention, he remains with the Wildcats ... and has no plans to leave.

Klieman has been so loyal to K-State since he was hired five seasons ago that athletic director Gene Taylor says Klieman has only listened to one outside suitor. Taylor declined to name which school pushed hard enough to grab Klieman’s attention, but that doesn’t really matter.

Bottom line: Klieman has gleefully shot down every rumor connecting him to other jobs as he has led the Wildcats to 39 victories, four bowl games and one conference championship.

“Obviously his name has been mentioned a lot of times,” Taylor said, “but it’s very rare that he has come to me and said, ‘Hey, I have an interest in talking to them.’”

That kind of loyalty can be hard to find in college football.

But K-State has found a way to keep its head football coach happy in Manhattan, so much so that EMAW nation has never truly worried about him leaving, even if there have been a few nervous moments along the way.

“It’s kind of two-fold,” Taylor said. “One, you feel like your guy is doing things right because other people notice. But it is a little nerve wracking, because a lot of these schools can pay a lot more money than we can. At some point it makes you think he may look at it, but the good news is that hasn’t happened.”

Earlier this month, it seemed like Washington might make a run at Klieman — not only because he has won at an impressive rate with the Wildcats, but because he is old friends with UW athletic director Troy Dannen.

Perhaps he was high on the Huskies’ list of candidates, but Klieman made it clear that he would be staying put when his agent heard from Washington.

Klieman was also one of the first to decline rumored interest from Michigan State. He has joined Iowa State’s Matt Campbell and the Jayhawks’ Lance Leipold as hot names on the coaching market who choose to keep winning where they’re at.

How have K-State and Klieman built such a strong relationship over the years?

“It’s important to have open conversations with your coaches,” Taylor said. “I want to be able to answer any questions they have. What needs do they have? What can we help them with? What are their concerns? What do they need to be successful? It’s not always money in their own pocket. Sometimes it’s things like additional staffing. Right now it’s help with NIL. You just kind of sit down with them and talk about what we can do to make them stay here and then you go to work.”

K-State has rewarded Klieman over the years. The Wildcats gave him a raise and a contract extension in 2020 and then did the same thing last year after he won the Big 12.

Klieman is currently under contract until 2031 on a deal that will pay him $46 million plus incentive-based bonuses. His salary will max out at $6.5 million. He is far and away the highest-paid coach in school history.

His coordinators earn $825,000 per year in salary and K-State recently completed construction on a state-of-the-art indoor practice facility that Klieman has raved about since the day it was opened.

With quarterback Avery Johnson set to lead the Wildcats over the next few seasons, and Oklahoma/Texas on the way out of the Big 12, the future seems incredibly bright.

And let’s not forget that Taylor is the AD who gave Klieman his big break as a head coach, first at North Dakota State and then K-State.

Klieman never passes up on opportunity to compliment his boss, routinely calling him “my guy” and “the best athletic director in the country.”

But Klieman has also publicly said that he wants the Wildcats to become more active in the NIL space. He thinks an upgrade in that area will help take K-State recruiting to a higher level.

Not surprisingly, that is now a top priority for the athletic department. K-State is taking a break from expensive facilities projects and now asking donors to focus more on NIL deals.

“We are explaining to our donors how NIL has changed in the last 12 months and the vital role that it plays,” Taylor said. “Whether you like it or not, it’s a critical piece of being able to stay competitive.”

It will also keep the winning football coach happy and on campus while his name continues to get mentioned elsewhere.