The biggest storyline around the Kansas State football staff is the hiring of program legend Collin Klein.
ESPN is lauding another of the university's hirings: offensive coordinator Sean Gleeson. The Wildcats hired Gleeson last month after releasing Matt Wells.
The article wrote:
"Collin Klein's return to Kansas State as coach brought several interesting staff hires, including OC Sean Gleeson, who first built his reputation at Princeton before OC stints at Oklahoma State and Rutgers. Gleeson spent the past two seasons at Missouri."
Gleeson was the quarterbacks' coach for Missouri over the last two seasons. Prior to that, he was the running backs coach at Princeton from 2013 to 2016, then switched to offensive coordinator for the next two years. He held stops at Oklahoma State, Rutgers, and Northwestern as offensive coordinator and senior offensive analyst.
Gleeson replaces the unpopular Wells, whose conservative play-calling and inability to convert on early downs made him public enemy No. 1 in Manhattan, KS. The Wildcats' offense was one of the worst in the conference to begin the season, despite expectations that they would be among the nation's best.
As Gleeson gels into the new role, hopefully, his veteran experience in the SEC can translate to helping the offensive system.
"You have to keep your discipline about going about this process," Gleeson said in his Feb. 11 press conference. "You have to come together as a group first before you can learn how to win and handle winning after that. The seasons of change and the course of the year, you're definitely learning how to win if things are going well. The 'come together' part with all the new portal faces is so pivotal for all of us in college football now."
As Klein facilitates the play-calling, Gleeson will be in the booth overseeing the team from a more technical standpoint. They will both be working to elevate quarterback Avery Johnson in his final season.
"I feel really good about the pieces that are gonna be able to help me in my new role, to be able to manage some of those responsibilities," Klein said in an interview with the KCSN Chiefs Newsletter. "What we’ve been able to do offensively and even build these last couple of years is very unique. I think it’s special. I think it’s an elite packaging, and that’s something that I think from a continuity standpoint was really important to me in that decision. I’m excited to work with Avery and this offense, and to do something special this year."