-How bold is this move? I don't see it that bold....simply because I know how good a coach Chris is.
-Many people were upset, then happy....but what about players? Last night was first time I've seen him interact with players. Once he started talking, I could tell the players were genuinely excited.
-Our communications and marketing crew have done a marvelous job. Once I told them who coach was, they were off and running.
(Gene went through call to CK and how he was at practice, etc.)
-How important was it to find a coach that would stay? It was very important. Personally, I don't know why you'd want to leave a Big 12 school, but some folks want to jump to bigger budgets. It was certainly part of the discussion when we went through interviews.
-I think he'll be able to get the talent to Manhattan to run his system. He will definitely focus on defense.
-Is what he want to do similar to Matt Cambell? Probably so.
-Can you walk me through recruiting? Is it all fair? Can he go after ND recruits? Don't think he'll go that route to large degree, unless it was a kid that just wanted to play for him. He'll definitely hit the kids already identified by K-State staff very hard. His main objective will be to keep those already committed.
-KK: There's a lot of KC HS coaches that think the world of Klieman. GT: yes, doesn't surprise me. He'll now get into TX. He hasn't done that, because he hasn't needed to. He'll be fine.
-Are you rooting for him to win or lose Friday? It'll be great publicity. I want him to win. I would never root for a guy that I just hired to lose.
-Doesn't quite feel right with Bill. Did you push him into retirement? He's fine, we're fine. I actually ran stuff by him. He told me what he liked and didn't like about each guy I ran by him. It wasn't easy for him. Walking away wasn't easy. But, it was a decision he came to.
-Did you tell him you thought it was time? We didn't have that conversation.
-Will there be a retirement party (or something) at some point? Eventually. We'll celebrate him more than once. Things just need to settle down a little. We need to give him time for this all to digest.
-Is it a requirement Sean is on the staff? I didn't tell anyone that Sean was required to be a part of staff. I told everyone that I'd prefer the new coach to talk to all our guys.
-Did you and Bill discuss this? Yes, we did. And I assured Bill that Sean would be a part of K-State. Whether that's coaching or administrative remains to be seen and totally up to Chris.
-When you talked to Sean, did he say he'd rather coach than not? Yes, I think that to be correct. I think he'd rather coach.
-Would it be hard now to just be ST coach? That's a better question for Chris.
-How do you avoid the appearance of Bill being too involved if Sean is still coaching? Chris will be in charge. Not worried about that at all.
-When do you see the staff in place? I think it'll be pretty quick, especially the key spots and coordinators. Probably by end of next week.
-Many people were upset, then happy....but what about players? Last night was first time I've seen him interact with players. Once he started talking, I could tell the players were genuinely excited.
-Our communications and marketing crew have done a marvelous job. Once I told them who coach was, they were off and running.
(Gene went through call to CK and how he was at practice, etc.)
-How important was it to find a coach that would stay? It was very important. Personally, I don't know why you'd want to leave a Big 12 school, but some folks want to jump to bigger budgets. It was certainly part of the discussion when we went through interviews.
-I think he'll be able to get the talent to Manhattan to run his system. He will definitely focus on defense.
-Is what he want to do similar to Matt Cambell? Probably so.
-Can you walk me through recruiting? Is it all fair? Can he go after ND recruits? Don't think he'll go that route to large degree, unless it was a kid that just wanted to play for him. He'll definitely hit the kids already identified by K-State staff very hard. His main objective will be to keep those already committed.
-KK: There's a lot of KC HS coaches that think the world of Klieman. GT: yes, doesn't surprise me. He'll now get into TX. He hasn't done that, because he hasn't needed to. He'll be fine.
-Are you rooting for him to win or lose Friday? It'll be great publicity. I want him to win. I would never root for a guy that I just hired to lose.
-Doesn't quite feel right with Bill. Did you push him into retirement? He's fine, we're fine. I actually ran stuff by him. He told me what he liked and didn't like about each guy I ran by him. It wasn't easy for him. Walking away wasn't easy. But, it was a decision he came to.
-Did you tell him you thought it was time? We didn't have that conversation.
-Will there be a retirement party (or something) at some point? Eventually. We'll celebrate him more than once. Things just need to settle down a little. We need to give him time for this all to digest.
-Is it a requirement Sean is on the staff? I didn't tell anyone that Sean was required to be a part of staff. I told everyone that I'd prefer the new coach to talk to all our guys.
-Did you and Bill discuss this? Yes, we did. And I assured Bill that Sean would be a part of K-State. Whether that's coaching or administrative remains to be seen and totally up to Chris.
-When you talked to Sean, did he say he'd rather coach than not? Yes, I think that to be correct. I think he'd rather coach.
-Would it be hard now to just be ST coach? That's a better question for Chris.
-How do you avoid the appearance of Bill being too involved if Sean is still coaching? Chris will be in charge. Not worried about that at all.
-When do you see the staff in place? I think it'll be pretty quick, especially the key spots and coordinators. Probably by end of next week.
