Kansas State Taps Veteran Playcaller as New Offensive Coordinator
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Kansas State is officially turning the page on its offensive future, and the Wildcats are doing it with experience leading the way. On Monday, head coach Collin Klein announced the hiring of Sean Gleeson as Kansas State’s new offensive coordinator for the 2026 season.
With 19 years of coaching experience and eight seasons calling plays, Gleeson arrives in Manhattan with a resume built on steady growth across multiple conferences.
A Proven Offensive Mind Joins Kansas State Wildcats
Gleeson comes to Kansas State after two productive seasons at Missouri. That's exactly where he served as the Tigers’ quarterbacks coach in the SEC. During the 2024 season, Missouri ranked fifth nationally in fewest passes intercepted with just five. He finished 10th in red zone offense at 92.0 percent, and placed 16th in third-down conversions at 46.4 percent.
Welcome home, OC @Coach__Gleeson
— K-State Football (@KStateFB) January 12, 2026
https://t.co/zYw0r2s2mT pic.twitter.com/O2PiY1NSDC
In the 2025 season, Gleeson showed his adaptability while navigating injuries in the quarterback room. Working with Beau Pribula and true freshman Matt Zollers, he helped the duo combine for 2,444 passing yards and 15 touchdowns as Missouri posted an 8-5 record. That followed a successful 10-3 campaign in 2023, which culminated in a Music City Bowl victory over Iowa.
The move to Kansas State marks Gleeson’s return to the Big 12. That's where he previously served as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Oklahoma State during the 2019 season. That Cowboys team finished 8-5, earned two ranked wins, and appeared in the Texas Bowl.
Following his time at Oklahoma State, Gleeson moved to the Big Ten. He served three seasons as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Rutgers before spending one year as a senior offensive analyst at Northwestern.
In 2020, the Scarlet Knights became the fourth-most improved scoring team in the country, increasing their output by 13.4 points per game.
Despite playing three fewer games during the COVID-19 pandemic, Rutgers scored 81 more points than the previous season. They even recorded the largest improvement in total offensive touchdowns in the Big Ten.
His work earned him consideration for the 2020 Broyles Award. He also mentored future NFL players Bo Melton and Isaiah Pacheco, with Pacheco later winning Super Bowls in 2022 and 2023 with the Kansas City Chiefs.
Let's Look At His Coaching Roots and Personal Background
Before reaching the Power Four level, Gleeson built an elite offensive resume during six seasons at Princeton. As offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach in 2017 and 2018, he helped engineer one of the most explosive offenses in the FCS.
Princeton finished a perfect 10-0 in 2018 while leading the FCS in scoring offense at 47.0 points per game and ranking second in total offense at 536.8 yards per game. Across the 2017 and 2018 seasons, the Tigers ranked fourth nationally among all FBS and FCS teams in scoring offense and sixth in total yardage.
Gleeson began his coaching career at Delbarton School in Morristown, New Jersey, from 2007 through 2010 before entering the college ranks at Fairleigh Dickinson in 2011. A native of Glen Ridge, New Jersey, he was a standout quarterback at Williams College. He led the conference in passing efficiency in 2005 and guided the Ephs to an 8-0 season in 2006.
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Shayni Maitra is a sports girl through and through writing about everything from locker room drama to game-day legends in the NFL and NBA. She’s covered the action for outlets like College Sports Network, Sportskeeda, EssentiallySports, NB Media, and PinkVilla, blending sharp takes with a deep love for storytelling. Whether it’s college football rivalries, Olympic gold-chasers, or the off-field chaos that keeps Twitter alive, Shayni brings the heat with heart—and just the right amount of humor.