What's next for Collin Klein after named Kansas State football coach?

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MANHATTAN — Now that the celebration over Collin Klein’s return to Kansas State football has settled, it’s time for him to get to work.

Klein, named Kansas State‘s new head coach following the retirement of Chris Klieman, has a lot of work to do to get the Wildcats back into Big 12 contention.

At the same time, Klein will face the challenge of building a coaching staff and a roster while finishing his offensive coordinator duties for Texas A&M, which will host Miami (Florida) in a Dec. 20 first-round College Football Playoff game.

Here’s what Klein said about his first steps as Kansas State football coach.

Collin Klein will finish his OC duties at Texas A&M

Klein said that Bill Snyder taught him to finish what he started. That means Klein will split some time between Manhattan and College Station, Texas, leading an offense that’s capable of making a College Football Playoff run.

Klein also joked that he needed to ask Snyder for advice on how to extend his day to 26 hours.

“I’ll be back and forth,” Klein said. “During the day, when I’m in College Station, I’ll be prepping for the playoff game, whichever round we’re in that week. When there’s a break or window, and in the evenings, I’ll get going on recruiting, beginning to build a staff and building relationships with our players.”

If Texas A&M beats Miami, the Aggies would advance to a Dec. 31 quarterfinal game against Ohio State, which would be played at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. A possible semifinal would be Jan. 8 in Phoenix, with a potential championship on Jan. 19 in Miami.

Collin Klein will identify his assistant coaches

Klein said he didn’t want to rush to get his coaching staff in place. He wants to get it right, making sure they fit in Manhattan and complement each other so the Wildcats get where they want to go.

“We need to have elite relationship-builders with our current players, recruits and their families,” Klein said. “We need guys that are about football and understand the game, the depths of the game. Players, in today’s world, even though the dynamics have changed in college football, I believe in my heart of hearts that they want to be challenged, they want to be pushed and they are going to be attracted to the people that can push them and develop their skillset and make them into the best player they can be.”

Collin Klein will have to evaluate roster, prepare for transfer portal

Klein, luckily, already has good relationships with many of K-State’s players, from serving as K-State’s offensive coordinator while some of them were on campus or being recruited.

Klein recruited Avery Johnson, and the two have already had positive conversations, as the quarterback’s future is under a microscope. The coach also identified Austin Romaine as a key piece to bring back, while mentioning him in a Q&A with the K-State athletics website.

Other big questions include Jayce Brown’s future at K-State, who hasn’t posted anything to social media regarding the coach’s hiring. Brown could be an NFL departure if he doesn’t enter the transfer portal or return to K-State. Linkon Cure is another one to watch, but he’s expressed excitement on Instagram over Klein’s hiring, posting pictures of the two from when Cure was younger, and being one of the few players in attendance for Klein’s introduction.

The transfer portal opens on Jan. 2, meaning there’s a lot of movement and work to be done in the weeks ahead. How much time Klein has to work on this could depend on how quickly he gets a staff in place and how far Texas A&M goes in the CFP.

Collin Klein needs to reestablish relationships with donors

It’s not going to be difficult for Klein to re-engage with those with deep pockets in the K-State community, and there already seems to be some momentum.

K-State athletic director Gene Taylor said there is “unbelievable” energy among the donors, who have expressed excitement over Klein’s return. When Klein was asked if K-State was financially in a position to succeed, he dropped a hint.

“I think we’ve made, even in the short time I’ve been here, have made some really, really good strides,” Klein said. “Everything’s moving in the right direction.”

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’s next steps after being named Kansas State coach

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