K-State names Andre Coleman offensive coordinator, promotes Charlie Dickey and Collin Klein

Andre Coleman started out at Kansas State as a receiver and returned as an assistant coach. His journey with the Wildcats will continue in yet another role next season as offensive coordinator.

K-State announced Wednesday that Coleman will take over for Dana Dimel, who left to take the head coaching job at UTEP after calling plays for Bill Snyder since 2009.

A popular coach and strong recruiter, Coleman appears ready for the extra responsibility. He has coached K-State receivers since 2013 and has held the title of passing game coordinator since 2016.

He will receive plenty of help in his new position, though. K-State also announced promotions for offensive line coach Charlie Dickey and quarterbacks coach Collin Klein. They will assist Coleman as co-coordinators, with Dickey supervising the running game and Klein overseeing the passing attack.

“We are fortunate to have three coaches who have had so much experience in our offense — a total of about 30 years — both past and present,” Snyder said in a statement released by K-State. “We’ve been blessed to have so many loyal, caring and effective coaches over the years, and these three exemplify those values. I have been pleased with how well these three have worked together.”

Coleman starred at K-State as a player from 1990-93 and went on the play in the NFL. Since returning as an assistant with the Wildcats, he has coached several standout receivers, including Tyler Lockett.

It remains to be seen how much the offense will change with Coleman calling plays, but odds are good he will lean more on passing and less on quarterback keepers.

Dickey, a coaching veteran with 30 years of experience, is respected as one of the best offensive line coaches in the country. Blocking should be a strength for the Wildcats next season, as they return all five starters from their offensive line, including star right tackle Dalton Risner.

Under Dickey, K-State set a school record for rushing yards per carry (5.27) in 2016, while ranking third in total rushing yards (3,013) and rushing yards per game (231.8). The Wildcats followed that up last season by averaging 4.98 yards per carry.

Klein will be one of the youngest coordinators in the country. The former star quarterback was a Heisman Trophy finalist in 2012 with the Wildcats. He returned as a graduate assistant in 2014, left to become the quarterbacks coach at Northern Iowa in 2016 and returned to take the same role with K-State last season.

K-State quarterbacks Skylar Thompson and Alex Delton both speak highly of Klein as a coach.

Snyder now has a full coaching staff. K-State also recently announced the hires of tight ends coach Zach Hanson and running backs coach Eric Hickson.

This story was originally published January 24, 2018 at 9:47 AM with the headline "K-State names Andre Coleman offensive coordinator, promotes Charlie Dickey and Collin Klein."