Texas A&M set to hire Kansas State's Collin Klein as offensive coordinator
Yes, THAT Collin Klein.
Texas A&M head coach Mike Elko is expected to hire Kansas State's Collin Klein to be the new offensive coordinator of the Aggies.
Klein had previously been Kansas State’s offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach for the previous two seasons.
Aggies will remember Klein from the 2012 Heisman Trophy ceremony. While Johnny Manziel won the award, Klein finished third in the voting after leading the Wildcats to an 11-1 regular season and a share of the Big 12 title.
A decade later, Klein became the offensive coordinator at his alma mater under head coach Chris Klieman.
In 2023, Kansas State (8-4, 6-3) ranked No. 23 nationally in offensive yards per game at 446.1. Additionally, the Wildcats ranked No. 10 in scoring offense at 37.8 points per game.
Conversely, A&M ranked No. 53 and No. 25 in those categories, respectively, under the guidance of Jimbo Fisher and Bobby Petrino.
Klein, 34, began his coaching career in 2014 as a graduate assistant at Kansas State, working as an assistant director of recruiting and defensive quality control coach.
After a one-year stint as the quarterback coach at Northern Iowa, Klein returned to Manhatten in a similar role.
Legendary Bill Snyder eventually elevated Klein to co-offensive coordinator in 2018. When Klieman was named Synder's successor, Klein was retained as quarterback coach despite having his co-offensive coordinator duties removed from his job title.
Ultimately, Klein became Kansas State's outright offensive coordinator in January of 2022, and the Wildcats won a thrilling Big 12 Championship Game over No. 3 TCU in overtime, 31-28.
The 2022 Wildcats averaged 32.3 points per game (No. 37) and 418.8 yards per game (No. 41). Those numbers came despite losing starting quarterback Adrian Martinez after just six games.
With Klein guiding the offense, Elko & Co. hope the production can improve exponentially in this new era of Texas A&M football.