Bill Snyder expected to return to Kansas State next year

There’s been speculation about his future, but Bill Snyder is expected to return to Kansas State next season.

The future of any older coach has to be considered a year-to-year proposition, and 78-year-old Bill Snyder is no different with a throat cancer diagnosis also a factor. But according to KState Online, citing multiple sources, Snyder plans to return as head coach for Kansas State next year.

Oregon defensive coordinator Jim Leavitt reportedly had a verbal agreement to take over at Kansas State in 2018, but Snyder has nixed that in an effort to make sure his son Sean becomes the next Wildcats’ head coach. Leavitt served as an assistant at Kansas State under Snyder from 1990-1995, while Sean Snyder has been an assistant at the school since 1994 and has been special teams coordinator since 2011.

The Wildcats, by some indications, had a disappointing 2017 regular season. But they are 7-5, with four wins in their last five games (including an upset of then-No.10 Oklahoma State), heading into the Cactus Bowl on Dec. 26 against UCLA. After a nine-win campaign in 2016, one or two fewer wins can theoretically go down as a failure to meet expectations this year.

K-StateOnline points to an abundance of returning players, possibly as many as 17 of 22 starters and 39 of 44 guys on the two-deep depth chart, as a reason for Snyder to return next year. Only one assistant coach is set to depart as well, with offensive coordinator Dana Dimel taking over as head coach at UTEP after Kansas State’s bowl game. Continuity can be an important thing, and Snyder doesn’t seem set to upset that balance in Manhattan for at least another year.

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Things can change between now and the start of next season, and Snyder’s health will go a long way toward determining if he indeed keeps coaching. But for now, the long-running symbol of Kansas State football will remain in place for 2018.