Former Kansas State coach Chris Klieman feared transfer portal stress would cause 'heart attack'

Key Highlights

• “If I kept doing this job, I was gonna have a heart attack, or I was gonna have a stroke."“My blood pressure was through the roof,” he added.
• “The stress and anxiety, not of winning and losing — my legacy is going to be fine on winning and losing.”AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementDespite the stress that the transfer portal process caused him, Klieman does not begrudge players for being able to maximize their financial value.
• Yet having to re-recruit his players each season and deal with agents immediately wanting NIL compensation figures felt far too different for him than typical recruiting in college football.“I don’t blame any of these kids," Klieman said.
• "It’s not their fault, but you get done playing Colorado, and come Monday, man, there’s 20 (players’ agents) that want to know a number, or they’re ready to go into the (transfer) portal.”“That’s all I’m going to do the whole month of December and January, is work with whatever 80 of our kids to see if we can keep them," he added.
• "And if not, go work with 580 kids to fill the 30 spots we’re going to need, and that’s all December and January.