Michigan Linked to 4-Time National Champion Head Coach

Michigan needs a new head coach after Jim Harbaugh’s departure to the Los Angeles Chargers, and Kansas State head coach Chris Klieman could fill that role amid droves of championship experience.

ESPN’s Pete Thamel listed Klieman as one of the potential candidates on Wednesday. Harbaugh leaves the Wolverines after a national championship and

Before K-State, Klieman coached North Dakota State to four FCS national championships with an 18-1 playoff game record between 2014 and 2018. He took the K-State job the following year, and he has a 39-24 record with the Wildcats plus one Big 12 Conference title.

It’s worth noting that NDSU isn’t just any mid-major type football program. The Bison have dominated the FCS since 2011 and beat the likes of Iowa, Minnesota, K-State, Kansas, Iowa State, and Colorado State along the way — all during Klieman’s time on the coaching staff.

Fourteen former Bison, including three quarterbacks, currently play in the NFL, and many of them came from Klieman’s tenure. Notable players include Carson Wentz, Easton Stick, Trey Lance, Christian Watson, Cody Mauch, Cordell Volson, and Jabril Cox.

K-State has produced 12 NFL players in Klieman’s time in Manhattan, Kansas. Notable players include Deuce Vaughn, Skylar Thompson, Felix Anudike-Uzomah, Ekow Boye-Doe, Russ Yeast, and Josh Hayes [also NDSU].

Klieman notably took over for famed former K-State head coach Bill Snyder, who had two Big 12 titles in his two tenures with Wildcats between 1989 and 2018.

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Chris Klieman Turned Down Michigan State in 2023

When Michigan State fired Mel Tucker due to sexual harassment allegations in September 2023, Klieman shot down public speculation of interest in the Spartans job.

“I’ll be sticking in Manhattan and will not be a candidate for that job,” Klieman said on XM Radio’s “Big 12 Today” via CBS Sports.

K-State benefitted as Klieman coached the No. 18 Wildcats to a 9-4 record, which included a 28-19 Pop-Tarts Bowl win over North Carolina State. Klieman kept the Wildcats going strong after losing many key players from a 10-4 Big 12 championship team in 2022.

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Turning Down MSU More About Loyalty for Chris Klieman

Klieman turning down MSU doesn’t mean he was waiting on a greater opportunity such as the national champion Wolverines. He hasn’t publicly pursued other recent College Football Playoff team openings, Alabama and Washington, because of plans to stay in Manhattan.

Part of it stems from who brought him to K-State in the first place. K-State athletic director Gene Taylor previously served as NDSU’s athletic director during Klieman’s time on the Bison football staff.

“Obviously his name has been mentioned a lot of times,” Taylor told the media via Kansas.com, “but it’s very rare that he has come to me and said, ‘hey, I have an interest in talking to them.'”

“It’s kind of two-fold,” Taylor added. “One, you feel like your guy is doing things right because other people notice. But it is a little nerve wracking, because a lot of these schools can pay a lot more money than we can. At some point it makes you think he may look at it, but the good news is that hasn’t happened.”

Instead, Klieman will look to keep building the Wildcats’ program in 2024 and beyond.

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