One of Kansas State’s assistant football coaches is leaving for a job in the Big Ten
Chris Klieman’s coaching staff will look a little different next season.
The always spinning coaching carousel in college football found its way to Kansas State this week when Illinois began finalizing a deal to hire Thad Ward as its new running backs coach, according to a source with knowledge of the move.
Pete Thamel of ESPN first reported the news.
Ward will depart K-State after spending one season coaching wide receivers for the Wildcats. Though his time in Manhattan was short, he made an impact both on the field and on the recruiting trail while he was a member of Klieman’s staff.
With Ward in charge of K-State receivers, the Wildcats passed for 2,947 yards this past season as the team won a Big 12 championship and earned an invitation to the Sugar Bowl. Malik Knowles had the best statistical year of his college career, finishing with 725 yards and two touchdowns. Kade Warner (456 yards, five touchdowns) and Phillip Brooks (587 yards, four touchdowns) also delivered strong campaigns.
As a recruiter, Ward helped the Wildcats land receivers such as Jayce Brown, Andre Davis, Tre Spivey, Wesley Watson and Iowa transfer Keagan Johnson.
K-State was not expecting to lose any coaches to other schools during the offseason. Athletic director Gene Taylor recently said it would be a priority for the school to retain its top assistants and potentially offer them new contracts. But Ward apparently felt a move to Illinois was too good to pass up.
Ward has worked at Illinois before, most recently from 2016-18 as the team’s running backs coach. K-State hired Ward away from Temple last offseason.
At K-State, Ward was earning a salary of $300,000 on a deal that wasn’t set to expire until February of 2024. His buyout will be $50,000, which is the equivalent of two months salary, according to a copy of his contract.
This story was originally published January 30, 2023 at 6:01 PM.