Kansas State Football: Bill Snyder creating unnecessary drama

Kansas State football head coach Bill Snyder has a lack of commitment that creates unnecessary drama and distractions for players and fans alike.

This column will not ask or state that the time has come for Bill Snyder to retire and/or step aside from running the Kansas State football program. While I agree with those, there’s nothing new to add to the pieces already written by Tim Fitzgerald at GoPowercat.com and bringonthecats.com that have touched on that very topic.

Bill Snyder can not play coy with his future anymore. Not answering the question regarding his future simply creates distractions and drama left for others to deal with. The very people he claims he doesn’t want to be distracted.

Everything began, to a degree, when the Cats were completely run off the field by Oklahoma Sooners down in Norman this past weekend. It was obvious, perhaps the icing on the cake created in disastrous outings against Mississippi State and West Virginia.

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When the Sooners removed their starters at end of the third quarter, the OU offense was on pace for over 1000 yards of offense. Yes, you read that correctly. The Wildcats simply did not deserve to be on the same field as Oklahoma.

Message boards were lighting up with rumors, between substantiated sources and random ‘he has to go,’ reports of an impending retirement. Would Snyder step down immediately (perhaps allowing his son to finish out the season as an interim coach)? Would it be the end of the season, allowing Snyder a fitting and well earned curtain call from appreciative fans. What would come?

During the Big 12 conference call with head coaches, Coach Snyder was asked about these reports by Matt Hall of Kstateonline.com

Matt Hall: “Coach, I respect you enough to simply ask you this directly, what’s your thought process right now as it relates to whether or not you plan to return to coach next season?”

Snyder: “I don’t think about those things until the season is concluded. I’ve answered that question a thousand times the same way.”

This past offseason, Snyder signed a five-year contract, with the hopes of providing some calm and quiet the talk about his future. Yet, before Halloween, he appeared to submarine that notion. Instead of simply replying he had a contract and anticipated being around through the contract, he indicated yet again he would re-evaluate at the end of the season.

The program has already endured a large loss of players in the past couple years and issues recruiting due to instability. Will Honas, a junior college linebacker, chose Nebraska over Kansas State. It’s hard not to think he did that because he was unsure of who his head coach was going to be.

When I spoke to Matt Hall at KStateOnline, he had indicated not only the issue with a player such as Honas, but that recruits are frequently contacting him and others in regards to the future of the head coach and what his plans are. One has to wonder how this issue plays with members of the administration, especially athletic director Gene Taylor.

Again, this space is not being used to ask Snyder to retire. I’m not saying he should or shouldn’t sta in Manhattan. That’s his choice.

However, the program can not, perpetually sit and wait for him to decide if he wants to return for the next season as talented football players either take their talents elsewhere. Instead of a distraction, Snyder speaking to his future would likely provide a cleansing effect for the program. As long as the issue and uncertainty remains, a cloud will hang over the program.

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