Kansas State targets Wyoming’s Scottie Hazelton after defensive coordinator leaves
It didn’t take long for Kansas State football coach Chris Klieman to find a new defensive coordinator.
Hours after the Chicago Bears announced they were hiring K-State defensive coordinator Ted Monachino as an assistant coach, the Wildcats were shaking hands with his replacement.
K-State is set to hire Scottie Hazelton as its new defensive play caller, according to sources familiar with the decision. Hazelton was on campus Monday afternoon finalizing a deal, the sources said. K-State is expected to announce the hire on Tuesday. Gopowercat.com was first to report the news.
Hazelton comes to K-State from Wyoming, where he spent the past two seasons as defensive coordinator for the Cowboys. Before that, he was a linebackers coach with the Jackson Jaguars. In 2013, he was defensive coordinator at Nevada.
His defenses produced solid numbers at Wyoming. The Cowboys ranked 19th nationally in yards allowed per game (326.2) and in scoring (22) last season. In 2017, the Cowboys allowed just 17.5 points per game.
Hazelton was an obvious candidate for the opening, as he has shared history with Klieman.
Hazelton coached alongside Klieman as a defensive assistant at North Dakota State in 2011. Hazelton was the coordinator and Klieman coached defensive backs that season. Hazelton went on to work other defensive jobs for other teams, while Klieman stayed at North Dakota State and became head coach.
They will reunite in Manhattan.
K-State hopes Hazelton will stick around longer than Monachino, who accepted a job with the Bears as a senior defensive assistant and outside linebackers coach before coaching a single game with the Wildcats.
The Bears reportedly began showing interest in Monachino last week after they brought in Chuck Pagano as defensive coordinator. Monachino previously served as defensive coordinator under Pagano when they were both with the Indianapolis Colts in 2016 and 2017.
Klieman hired Monachino as K-State’s defensive coordinator in late December. He was previously serving as a senior defensive analyst for the Missouri Tigers, but he has a long history of coaching in the NFL.
The Wildcats were set to pay Monachino $525,000 during his first season as defensive coordinator. He will walk away from that contract without any financial penalty. The deal featured no buyout if Monachino left K-State for a NFL job.
Hazelton made $400,000 last season at Wyoming.
This story was originally published January 21, 2019 at 4:16 PM.