The Collin Klein coaching era at Kansas State is officially underway, as the newly introduced coach made sweeping changes to the coaching staff on Thursday.
Pete Thamel of ESPN first reported that Klein’s staff would not retain coaching veteran and offensive coordinator Matt Wells. Roughly 10 minutes later, Pete Nakos of On3 reported that Wells, running backs coach Brian Anderson, wide receivers coach Matthew Middleton, corners coach Van Malone, defensive tackles coach Mike Tuiasosopo, and tight ends coach Luke Wells would all be let go from the previous regime under newly retired Chris Klieman.
Amid the staff turnover, Kansas State defensive coordinator Joe Klanderman is reportedly finalizing a deal to retain his title at Baylor for Dave Aranda. His departure comes two days after Kansas State reportedly appointed former Wildcats quarterback and Excel Sports agent Trey Scott as the football program’s general manager.
It’s somewhat unsurprising that Klein, after two seasons as offensive coordinator at Texas A&M, would want to tailor the Wildcat offense to his liking, especially after coaching quarterbacks, offenses, or both in Manhattan for nine seasons after his prolific playing career.
All this change while Klein still has hours to punch down in College Station.
Still vying for a national title, No. 7 Texas A&M currently ranks 4th in the SEC and 20th nationally in offense with 454.4 yards per game. That production includes the SEC’s second-best run game behind Ruben Owens II (112 carries, 618 yards, 5 touchdowns).
Mind you, Klein is still expected to lead the offense for Mike Elko and the Aggies (11-1) in their first-round meeting with No. 10 Miami (10-2) on Saturday, Dec. 20. The winner meets No. 2 Ohio State (12-1) in the Cotton Bowl on New Year’s Eve.
