Collin Klein hired at Kansas State: How successful are coaches at alma maters?

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MANHATTAN — There’s always a risk when hiring a beloved figure in a school’s history as its head coach, but Kansas State and Collin Klein are up to the task.

Klein was announced as Kansas State’s next head football coach on Thursday, Dec. 4, which followed the sudden Wednesday announcement of Chris Klieman’s retirement.

Hiring a former player to be one’s head coach isn’t anything new. It’s common across college football, and it includes a national championship winner and multiple coaches who have contended for titles at their alma mater. Some, though, turned out ugly.

Let’s hope that’s not the case here.

Here’s a look at some of the coaches who entered the 2025 season leading their alma mater.

Kirby Smart, Georgia

The former Bulldogs defensive back turned out to be OK. He’s won a pair of national championships and will try to compete for another this season.

Mario Cristobal, Miami

A two-time national champion as a player, Cristobal has turned Miami into one of the best teams in the country, consistently landing some of the most talented recruiting classes. The Hurricanes are trending up under his leadership.

Clark Lea, Vanderbilt

Lea has made Vanderbilt relevant in the SEC, while contending for a spot in the College Football Playoff this season. The former Vandy fullback recently received a massive contract extension.

Brent Key, Georgia Tech

Key’s one of the hottest names in coaching. He was a right guard at Georgia Tech, which has competed near the top of the ACC since he took over.

Jeff Brohm, Louisville

Brohm is in the Louisville Ring of Honor after a successful Cardinals career at quarterback. He’s led Louisville to back-to-back 10-win seasons and reportedly declined an offer to become Penn State’s next head coach.

Mike Gundy, Oklahoma State

It ended ugly for Gundy in Stillwater, with him not winning a Big 12 game in 2024 before being fired after three games in 2025, but he should have a mulleted statue outside the Cowboys’ stadium someday. He made the Cowboys nationally relevant for most of his career, leading his alma mater since he took over in 2005, and will soon be welcomed back with open arms.

DeShaun Foster, UCLA

This one was bad. Foster was a second-team All-American at UCLA in 2001, and then took over as its head coach in 2024. He went 5-10 between his two years, resulting in his firing three games into the 2025 season. On top of that, UCLA was appreciably better after he left.

Trent Bray, Oregon State

A standout linebacker for the Beavers from 2002-05, Bray was fired in the middle of his second season when leading his alma mater. Oregon State went 5-7 last year, but he was given the axe after an 0-7 start to the 2025 season.

Wyatt D. Wheeler covers Kansas State athletics for the USA TODAY Network and Topeka Capital-Journal. You can follow him on X at @WyattWheeler_, contact him at 417-371-6987 or email him at wwheeler@usatodayco.com

This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Collin Klein hired to coach at Kansas State, alma mater

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