Chris Klieman’s College Football Warning Should Scare Everyone

Former Kansas State head coach Chris Klieman spoke with The Mercury in his first long-form conversation since he stepped away as head coach of the Wildcats last month. And the honesty in which he talked about his decision was a clear warning sign for his personal health and the health of college football.

Chris Klieman shared his clear frustration with the state of college football, adding that his December and January was not going to be about recruiting, but rather dealing-making, saying, “That’s all I’m going to do the whole month of December and January, is work with whatever 80 of our kids to see if we can keep them, and if not, go work with 580 kids to fill the 30 spots we’re going to need, and that’s all December and January. That’s not recruiting. That’s just finding ways to make deals… You’re just putting compensation packages together.”

Did he Turn Down Tens of Millions of Dollars?

The reality is Klieman likely walked away from tens of millions of dollars, regardless of if he won or lost in the years to come. Klieman had seven years remaining on his contract, and win or lose, he was going to make a ton of money.

Let’s say 2026 was a letdown season, as many K-State fans would characterize 2025, had the Wildcats fired him, he would have been paid $22 million. Or, had he reached his prior level of success, he would have made even more money, likely closer to $30 million over the next several years.

“But I’d never been driven by money,” he told The Mercury. “You know, I’m blessed that Gene (Taylor, the K-State athletics director) hired me so that I can set my family up for life.”

Klieman could have kept things rolling, knowing the larger paydays were coming. But as he noted, that’s never what drove him. And if you’re not alive to enjoy the money, what’s the point?