Kansas hiring former Illinois assistant, Kansas State legend Sean Snyder as special assistant to head coach

Kansas football is reportedly making a hire that might make Kansas State fans woozy. Head coach Lance Leipold has brought in Sean Snyder — son of legendary, long-serving Wildcats head coach Bill Snyder and a Kansas State legend in his own right — as a special assistant, Kansas announced on Friday.

After playing for his father at Kansas State in the early 1990s and earning All-American honors as a punter, Snyder eventually joined the staff for the Wildcats football program. He started as an assistant and then worked in football operations before serving in the athletic administration through most of the 2000s. In 2011, he moved into an on-field coaching role, heading up special teams for Kansas State.

In 2020, he left to be the special teams coordinator at USC, a position he held for two seasons. With the arrival of Lincoln Riley, Snyder was on the outs and found a home at Illinois. Now, he’s back in Kansas, but wearing red and blue.

CBS Sports’ Dennis Dodd first reported the news.

Snyder comes to the Jayhawks at a time when the program is surging. Kansas made a bowl game for the first time in more than a decade last season and return quarterback Jalon Daniels for the 2023 season.

“Ever since I first touched the field at 8 years old, it was always a dream of mine to be able to play college football at the Division I level. Under the lights, with my brothers, listening to the roar of the crowd, and being able to accomplish what many people thought I couldn’t,” Daniels said in a video announcing he’d return in 2023. “These past three years–you’ve brought me in as one of your own. Helped up pack The Booth. Stayed down with us when nobody else believed. And have not only helped me grow as an athlete, but as a man,” Daniels continued. “This season was full of many trials and tribulations. But along with those trials and tribulations were many blessings that not only I was able to achieve as a player, but we were able to achieve as a program.

“So stop asking. 2023, it’s up. Rock Chalk Nation! Let’s do it!”

Along with Daniels returning, Kansas locked in Leipold for the foreseeable future.

Leipold will receive $5 million a year through the 2029 season. With each season, he will receive an annual raise of $100,000.

This contract extension comes in just Leipold’s second season at Kansas. He is 8-16 there and started the 2022 season 5-0, getting the Jayhawks ranked in the AP Poll. This led to speculation that other jobs, like Nebraska and Wisconsin, may court him.

In response, Kansas has invested in the football program, the football staff, and Leipold himself with this new contract extension. That includes spending $100 million on a stadium renovation.