Kansas State's 2026 coaching staff is taking shape, with eight new assistants joining head coach Collin Klein. Klein, a legendary quarterback at the school and 2012 Heisman Trophy finalist, returns to Manhattan as a first-time head coach after two years as an offensive coordinator at Texas A&M under Mike Elko.
Thad Ward, a former wide receivers coach at Kansas State, returns to the program after serving as the running backs coach at Illinois under Bret Bielema. Ward will take on the role of associate head coach and wide receivers coach.
Sean Gleeson, who was the quarterbacks coach at Missouri for the last two years, will be Kansas State's offensive coordinator. However, Klein will handle play-calling for the Wildcats.
Jordan Peterson, the co-defensive coordinator and defensive backs coach at Texas A&M, will take on the role of defensive coordinator at Kansas State. His experience includes stints as defensive back coaching at Kansas, New Mexico, and Fresno State.
Stanton Weber, a wide receiver and special teams standout at Kansas State from 2011-15, returns to the program as the special teams coordinator. He previously worked as a graduate assistant and quality control coach at K-State before becoming a special teams analyst at South Carolina and then Toledo's special teams coordinator.
Jeremy Jacobs, who was the associate director of strength and conditioning at Duke under Mike Elko, will be Kansas State's director of strength and conditioning. He followed Elko to Texas A&M for the last two seasons and now joins Klein at K-State.
Christian Ellsworth, who played for Klein at Northern Iowa, will be the quarterbacks coach at Kansas State. Ellsworth spent the last two seasons as an offensive analyst and tight ends coach at Texas A&M, where he worked with Klein.
Jeremiah Johnson, a defensive coordinator at several stops, including Northern Iowa, Kent State, and Coastal Carolina, will coach defensive backs at Kansas State. He also served as Coastal's interim coach for part of last season.
Brian Lepak, who has been on Kansas State's staff since 2021, will return to coaching tight ends. He previously held the same role from 2022-24 before serving as the offensive line coach last year.
Cory Patterson, who joins Kansas State from Oklahoma State, will be the running backs coach. Patterson previously served as a running backs coach at Illinois and Purdue.
Mike Schmidt, who takes over the offensive line at Kansas State, has experience coaching the position at San Diego State, Syracuse, and Mississippi State.
Nick Toth, who has been on college sidelines since 2000, will coach linebackers at Kansas State. He previously served as a safeties coach at Air Force and has experience coaching linebackers at Oregon, Fresno State, and Texas A&M.
Buddy Wyatt, who has coached defensive line since 1992, will continue to focus on defensive ends at Kansas State. He has experience coaching the position at several schools, including Minnesota, Oklahoma State, and Texas A&M.
Marcel Yates, who joins Kansas State from Texas Tech, will coach cornerbacks. Yates previously coached secondaries at Arizona, Montana State, Boise State, California, and Oregon.
Josh Buford, who followed Klein to Kansas State from Texas A&M, will be an inside receivers coach. Buford previously worked as an offensive analyst at K-State in 2022 and 2023.
Tim DeRuyter, who joins Kansas State after serving as Texas Tech's defensive coordinator, will be the assistant head coach for defense. DeRuyter has experience as a defensive coordinator at several schools, including Oregon, California, and Texas A&M.
Jordan Dove, who was a defensive assistant at South Carolina last year, will coach defensive tackles at Kansas State.
Preston Mason, who followed Klein and Peterson to Kansas State, will coach outside linebackers. Mason previously served as the Aggies' assistant linebackers coach for the last two seasons.
Joe Bob Clements, a fan favorite, returns to Kansas State as the assistant to the head coach and forward scout for offense. Clements previously served as Oklahoma State's co-defensive coordinator.
Source: Yahoo Sports