After seeing Kansas State coach Chris Klieman’s emotional news conference — following K-State’s tough loss at Utah — Kansas coach Lance Leipold said he reached out to offer his support.
The pair of in-state coaches have had a longstanding friendship. A win against Utah would have clinched bowl eligibility for the Wildcats (5-6, 4-4 Big 12).
The Jayhawks (5-6, 3-5 Big 12) are in a similar position entering senior day.
“I’ve seen parts of it (the news conference). I reached out to Chris yesterday,” Leipold said Monday. “(With the) expectations in today’s world of college football — what’s going around — there’s disappointments and frustrations. These jobs, I know people get into the salaries we make as coaches and things like that, but we didn’t get into this (and) I know Chris didn’t either for what the paycheck is. That’s not how we started. That’s not what drives him.”
Leipold noted he reached out to Klieman as a friend and colleague rather than a coach of a rival school.
“I reached out because I hope he’s doing well,” Leipold said. “I know this, and as he articulated, I feel the same way about our guys. As you go through it, the ups and downs, the tough losses and things like that, we really love our kids. We love the guys we work with and the players we get to coach with on a daily basis. A lot of times that gets lost today.”
Both the Jayhawks and Wildcats entered the year with big expectations, and both find themselves amid a frustrating season in which bowl eligibility is in doubt.
The Wildcats have been trying to dig out of a 2-4 hole that they started the year in. Kansas has lost two straight and four of five overall.
The Jayhawks have one last chance to clinch a bowl berth against No. 14 Utah on Friday. K-State plays Colorado with bowl eligibility on the line Saturday.
Elsewhere around the Big 12, Scott Frost, the head coach at UCF, also offered his support for Klieman after the emotional news conference where he was, at one point, consoled by athletic director Gene Taylor.
“There is no fan that cares more than we do,” Frost said. “There is no fan that cares more about the players and wants to win more than we do. Sometimes you have got a great situation and it’s easy. Sometimes it’s a lot harder and you may or may not get there. It gets harder to win every game every year. I think people are a little impatient.
“He (Klieman) is a passionate guy. I have got a ton of respect for him. He is a really good coach. I’m not surprised when coaches have an emotional outburst. On top of everything, we are really tired this time of year, because it’s 14-hour days for four months without a day off except maybe on a bye week. It gets to you. He cares a lot like we all do. I wish him the best except for when we play him.”
