It’s not exactly a state secret that Bill Snyder wants his son, special teams coordinator Sean Snyder, to take over for him when he steps down a second, and presumably final, time as Kansas State’s head coach. Thursday brought forth a striking example of just how far the Wizard of Manhattan will go to ensure his beloved football program remains a part of the family.
According to a Facebook post from former ESPN.com college football insider Brett McMurphy, K-State had an agreement in place last year with Jim Leavitt, a former KSU assistant who at the time was on the Colorado staff, that would have him succeed Snyder as head coach after joining. Per the agreement, Leavitt would have joined Snyder’s staff and been guaranteed $3 million if he were not named head coach before Jan. 1 of 2018.
The 78-year-old Snyder, though, had other ideas. From McMurphy’s post:However, last December, Snyder pushed back on Leavitt, a former KSU assistant, being named his replacement because Snyder wanted his son Sean, currently KSU’s associate head coach and special teams coordinator, to replace him, sources said.
Snyder’s K-State contract stipulates when he’s done coaching at KSU he will be a “special assistant to the athletic director” and “shall also have appropriate input … regarding the selection of the next head football coach.”
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In late 2016/early 2017, Kansas State officials were prepared to approach Snyder again about approving Leavitt as his replacement. However, Snyder, who turned 78 on Oct. 7, was diagnosed with throat cancer, so the school opted to no longer pursue the plan for Leavitt to replace Snyder.
Instead of returning to K-State, Leavitt, also the former head coach at USF who left the Bulls under a cloud of controversy, was hired as the defensive coordinator at Oregon last December. Per McMurphy’s post, Leavitt has a clause in his UO contract that he won’t owe the university anything “should he voluntarily terminate this agreement to become the head football coach at Kansas State University.”
As of this posting, there’s been no comment from Snyder or the university on the report.