Georgia Tech has officially announced Geoff Collins as its next head coach, meaning Kansas State is the only Power 5 job on the board at this time. It’s a bit of an odd juxtaposition, given that Gene Taylor has been prepping for a search from the day he was named as Kansas State’s athletics director in April of 2017.

Sources have told FootballScoop that K-State has conducted a wide-ranging search for Bill Snyder’s replacement, with as many as seven candidates on the list to be interviewed.

But North Texas head coach Seth Littrell, mentioned by many in Manhattan throughout the fall as the top candidate, has withdrawn from the search, indicating K-State is nearing a hire — and sources told FootballScoop Taylor is zeroing in on a familiar name in North Dakota State head coach Chris Klieman.

Taylor promoted Klieman to NDSU’s head coach after Craig Bohl left for Wyoming.

In his fifth season leading the premier FCS program, Klieman is 66-6 with three national championships and perhaps one more in the offing. The Bison are the top seed in the FCS playoffs and are set to host No. 8 Colgate in the quarterfinal round on Saturday.

While Klieman would not be expected to leave Fargo until the Bison’s season is complete, that wouldn’t preclude Kansas State from naming him as the next Wildcats head coach ahead of time. Bohl was formally announced as Wyoming’s head coach amid North Dakota State’s 2013 playoff run, led the Bison to that season’s national title and then joined Wyoming full-time in January.

With the early National Signing Day looming just a week and a half away, logic would dictate Kansas State would like to name its next head coach sooner rather than later.

As always, stay tuned to The Scoop for the latest.