Mike Elko isn’t losing sleep over Collin Klein splitting time between two jobs right now, even if the rest of us are still trying to wrap our heads around it. Klein, who’s pulling double duty as Texas A&M’s offensive coordinator and Kansas State’s new head coach, is somehow managing both gigs through the College Football Playoff stretch. It’s not your everyday situation, but Elko’s not treating it like a crisis.
When asked about how it’s going to work, Elko didn’t flinch. He said the offensive game plan has always been a collaborative effort, and Klein’s not carrying everything on his own. “I have a ton of confidence in Collin, in who he is as a man and who he is as a competitor,” Elko said. “He’ll give the focus and energy that he needs to ensure that this thing is done the right way and finished the right way. I have no questions about that.”
It sounds good in theory, but let’s be honest, it still feels like a lot. You’ve got Klein breaking down film and building red zone packages for the Aggies during the day, then flipping over to Wildcat recruiting calls and early staffing meetings at night. That’s not a sustainable routine for long, and thankfully, it only runs through the playoff.
Kansas State fans probably love seeing their new guy still grinding for A&M. It shows he’s not mailing it in or bailing mid-season. But there’s also a part of this that feels a little uneasy. It’s hard to fully commit to building your own program when you’re also prepping for a playoff run with someone else’s. And back at A&M, you’ve got to wonder how that affects continuity or rhythm on offense, even if Elko is calm about it.
There’s no real blueprint for this kind of thing. Coaches leave for new jobs every year, but it’s rare to see one try to walk both paths this deep into December. If the Aggies make a serious run and Klein keeps the offense humming, nobody’s going to care. But if anything goes sideways, this whole setup will be one of the first things people point to.
