Kansas State head coach Chris Klieman is expected to announce his retirement this week, per local reports out of Kansas by The Mercury Sports and confirmed by On3.

The top target to replace him is Wildcat legend Collin Klein, who is currently the offensive coordinator at Texas A&M. Klein was the starting quarterback at Kansas State in 2011 and 2012, leading the Wildcats to a 21-5 record, a Big 12 Championship and a trip to New York as a Heisman finalist.   

Klein spent most of his coaching career, which started as a GA in 2014, at Kansas State. He became the quarterbacks coach of the Wildcats in 2017 and was the offensive coordinator by 2022. He was hired away by Mike Elko ahead of the 2024 season and has called plays in Aggieland for the past two seasons. Texas A&M was 49th in scoring offense in 2024 while averaging 30.4 points per game. His unit is 16th nationally in 2025 with 36.3 points per game as he’s transformed Marcel Reed from project to Heisman contender. 

If Klein does take the Kansas State job, Texas A&M would be in a unique position heading into the College Football Playoff. The Aggies are 11-1 and ranked seventh in the recent CFP rankings, which sets them up to host a first-round playoff game on Dec. 19 or 20. Would Klein stay in town to call plays for the run or would Elko need to elevate someone already on staff to do so for the rest of 2025 before conducting a nationwide search for Klein’s replacement? Billy Liucci from TexAgs reported Wednesday morning that Klein will continue to run the Aggie offense throughout the CFP.  

Elko will have his pick of top play callers across the country because of Texas A&M’s resources and station in the SEC. Current Notre Dame offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock was one of the finalists with Klein the first go around. Co-offensive coordinator and wide receiver coach Holoman Wiggins would be the in-house option. He's worked previously at stops such as Alabama, Virginia Tech, and Memphis.