Sean Snyder talked about his early impressions of the KU program and what he has seen from Lance Leipold.
Snyder, who was won national awards, spoke about his success as a special teams and much more.
Read the transcript and everything Snyder had to say during his introductory press conference.
Why was Kansas a good fit for you…
Snyder: Well, finishing up at Illinois. When I got back to Kansas, as a matter of fact back home and spent time with my kids, helped my daughter, and stuff. And last year, before going to Illinois, Collin (Sexton) had called me up and we had some brief conversations. And I was in a position at that point in time that I didn't want to be in an off the field position. And so, we had some previous conversations.
Obviously, I followed this program last year a little bit more than I would normally have because there was some interest there from Colin and from Coach Leipold.
And so, once we go through the season, obviously some good things were taking place here. And then Collin and I talked and got an opportunity to come over here and visit. And really my time was short visits. I say short but long visits with Coach Leipold were really good.
The opportunity to come in, and for myself, to be in a position now. Back a long time ago when I was DFO at K-State and had a lot of oversight with things. Now again, an opportunity to be underneath another coach. Coach is doing really, really well. Has a great mind, really thinks outside the box with a lot of things. And it'll be a great opportunity for me to come step in and learn some things as well. I think for both of us, we both see advantages of it, and I think there's a great opportunity there.
Do you have discussions with your dad and what were his thoughts…
Snyder: He and I talked about it, and he wants to see me coaching, doing what I want to do. He's happy for me and he's looking forward to whatever comes out of it. It's been really good.
And as you would know, he's been very, very supportive. Everything that I've done from USC to Illinois to here, to whatever the next move becomes. If it stays here, great. And if it's somewhere else, it's somewhere else.
I was blessed for 30 years to be in one place. And so I was not on the coaching carousel that all these other coaches have had to go through, and now it's my turn to do that. Now I'm kind of roaming around a little bit and I've enjoyed each stop. Each stop has been good. It's easy for my wife and I to navigate it. And so yeah, I've learned at each place. I pick up as much knowledge as I can, and I pass on as much as I can as well, so it's been good.
Given your past at Kansas State was there any pause going to KU…
Snyder: No. When everything changed over at K-State and Coach Klieman had a path he wanted to go, and it's all his right. And I wasn't involved in that. And so, once I left and once I was gone, to me, any job if it's the right fit, is a good job. For me, I was dead set on I want to work for good people, and I want to be in a place to where everybody's marching in the same path, in the same direction. And everybody's got it hands on deck. That's how it was for us back when Dad and I were back at K-State.
I've tried to be able to get into positions to where I'm working for good people. Coach Helton was a great head coach. I've enjoyed working for him. Coach Bielema at Illinois, really enjoyed working for him there as well. And the coaching staffs were good. And this, along with what was asked earlier, that's part of this thing. There's good people here, and so that makes this job fun.
What have you learned to like most about Lance in your short time around him and with him and talking to him…
Snyder: Well, I like a lot of the things that he talks about. That in all honesty, are kind of lost a little bit more and more in football. He talks about loyalty and commitment and being right by people. And those things are important, having integrity. A lot of coaches and everybody talks about it, a lot of them don't walk it. I say a lot of them, some don't.
But that's what I look for, that's what I'm looking for when I'm trying to get around a staff. I want to be around people that have loyalty and have integrity. And especially with these kids these days, you want to be around people that treat them right as well too. And that's really important.
Coach Leipold mentioned you could help with in-state recruiting because of relationships with local coaches…
Snyder: Philosophically, it's about relationships. And that's the key thing, every coach, whether you're high school coach, college coach, pro coach. You're developing relationships with people. And I think the big thing in recruiting is having those relationships with the coaches. Making them feel like they're a part of this, and that's really important. You know it just as well as I do, if you feel a part of something, you feel like you're welcome, you want to be more engaged in it, and you want to be able to support it more. I think that's an important part of it.
What were some of the things you wanted in this role…
Snyder: Well, we've just talked about a lot of general things, and I'm sure he addressed that earlier in here. But I think as we go and as we move forward, and again, I've been here less than 24 hours, so I don't know. I've watched some film. I've watched some games from last year, so I don't know what all's in place, what's not.
And as we go through it, we'll share a lot of thoughts back and forth. I think my experiences of being involved with a program that's getting off the ground, just getting started, and then sustaining those successes that dad did with K State. I think a lot of the things that took place through those years and me being director of football operations, and how we carried things through.
Obviously, with all the other stuff that surrounds that, I think those are just going to be a lot. As we navigate through the waters and see where the path goes and direction goes, that's where the feedback between the two of us will take place. And so, I don't know where that's going to lead.
What are your first impressions…
Snyder: It is good. The practice was well organized, great tempo. The kids are engaged. The coaches do a great job. The coaches are really engaged with the players and do a good job. They're coaching on the run. A lot of things that I think are really, really important, and so positively. There's a lot of good positive things. Can I tell you there's anything negative I've seen yet? No. But I'm looking at all the positive things and that's where we start.
How much easier is this transition with Collin Sexton being here…
Well, the best part about that is that Collin is able to get me to the best restaurants as quick as possible. So we started off last night with a good one. But no, it'll help the transition be easy. And again, with the coaching staff, these guys are great. They've welcomed me in. It's been real easy to get going. It's just to getting in a routine, knowing what the schedule's going to be like, the system. And it's going to be short because we don't have much left of spring ball.
But at the end of the day, it'll be pretty easy. The hardest part's going to be getting to meet everybody, and getting all the players names and faces down. But we'll get that done pretty quick as well.
What has been the reaction from friends and people in the industry…
Snyder: It has been really good. I've had just about every former specialist that I've coached has messaged me. A lot of the players that I've coached in the past from USC, Illinois, and K-State have sent me messages. And obviously a lot of the people that I know have sent messages. Last night, I think I stopped counting at about 125, but I had responded back to somewhere around 130, 140 text messages yesterday. So it's been really positive with everybody that I actually know.
You have had a long history of success with special teams. How have you been able to do that…
Snyder: That's a trade secret. I can't share that. It's building relationships. And one of the things that I do as a person, if I have a strong belief in somebody and a great respect for somebody, I'm going to work as hard as I can for them.
And I really think with players, yes, there's schemes and there's other stuff that you mix into it. But if the players believe in what they're doing, they believe in you as a coach, and you have a great relationship with them and respect, they're going to fight. And you can get a lot done with guys that are going to fight.
It's just like this program. They're fighting. And Coach Leipold's got them in a good place and they're fighting offensively, defensively. They're trying to do the best they can, and I know they're trying to do the best they can too on special teams. But for all the years in the past, the thing I've really tried to make a strong focal point on is getting to really know the players well. And making sure they understand everything that we're doing really well.
