Update: Chris Klieman to replace Bill Snyder at Kansas State

As first reported by Bruce Feldman, and almost immediately confirmed by several other local outlets, K-State has reached an agreement with North Dakota State head coach Chris Klieman to take over the reins of the Wildcat football program.

The reported terms of the deal via Jake Trotter at ESPN include an annual salary of $2.3 million, with a $200,000 annual escalator over the six-year contract term, meaning in year six Klieman will be making $3.5 million a year. That represents a raise of roughly two million a year for the new Wildcat head man. Klieman will continue to coach the Bison for, at the very least, this weekend’s national semifinal against South Dakota State.

The 51-year-old Klieman has amassed a 67-6 record in five years at the Bison helm, including three national championships and a 36-4 record in the indisputably toughest conference at the FCS level. Before that, Klieman was the defensive coordinator on Craig Bohl’s staff, helping the Bison to their first three national championships.

Prior to his move to Fargo, Klieman spent most of his career, including his playing days, at Northern Iowa. There were some stops elsewhere; three years at Western Illinois, a year at Kansas, and a year at Missouri State, all as the defensive backs coach, and a four year stint at Division III Loras College where he was defensive coordinator for three years before taking over as head coach for a single season. He left that position to return to Northern Iowa in 2006.

The hire has immediately been met with a resounding swell of outrage from the Wildcat fanbase, while conversely the national media seems to think it’s a great outside-the-box hire. Tye Burger will outline the pros and cons of the hire here at Bring on the Cats tomorrow.

Update:

This is now official, as announced by Kansas State Athletics. Chris Klieman has been offered and accepted the job of head football coach at Kansas State.