MANHATTAN — Conor Riley is no longer Kansas State football's interim offensive coordinator.

Head coach Chris Klieman announced Thursday that Riley, the Wildcats' veteran offensive line coach, has been promoted to the offensive coordinator position permanently after calling plays in K-State's 28-19 Pop-Tarts Bowl victory over North Carolina State last week.

At the same time, Klieman named former Texas Tech and Utah State head coach Matt Wells as co-offensive coordinator, quarterbacks coach and associate head coach. Wells takes over the quarterback duties from former offensive coordinator Collin Klein, who left in December for a similar position at Texas A&M.

"Conor has been with me for more than a decade, and he is deserving of this opportunity,” Klieman said of Riley, who served as his offensive line coach at North Dakota State and then followed him to Manhattan for the 2019 season. “He did a phenomenal job of leading the offensive room during our bowl preparation, and our coaches and players have the utmost respect for him and his ability to lead.

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"I have known Matt for a very long time, and he is someone who will bring a lot to the table as a member of our staff — from head coaching experience to developing some of the top quarterbacks in the game. He will be a great addition to our offensive room and system, providing tremendous x’s and o’s experience as well as a recruiting prowess that mirrors our philosophy of identifying and developing talent."

Riley, who has developed K-State's offensive line into a consistent team strength over the past five years, will continue to work with that group in addition to leading the offense.

"I’m very appreciative for this opportunity provided by (athletics director) Gene Taylor and coach Klieman, two men I’ve been fortunate to be around for quite some time," Riley said. "This is something I have worked for my entire career, and to be able to have this opportunity at such a great institution such as K-State — one with great tradition — is humbling.

"I look forward to the addition of coach Wells, a person I greatly respect as a peer in coaching, but more important is the amount of respect I have for him as a man of character and integrity. I’m looking forward to continuing to build and move this offense forward with the entire staff."

Under Riley, K-State's veteran line helped pave the way for a Wildcat offense that ranked 11th nationally in rushing with 204.1 yards per game, including 257 rushing yards and 435 total yards against a highly rated North Carolina State defense in the bowl game.

Wells, whom Klieman has called one of his best friends in the coaching profession, spent the past two seasons as advisor to the head coach and offensive analyst at Oklahoma. Before that he was head coach at Utah State, his alma mater, from 2013-18 and Texas Tech from 2019-21.

"My family and I are so incredibly grateful for the opportunity that Coach Klieman has presented to us to be a part of the Wildcat staff and team," Wells said. "This has been a model of a winning program with consistency and stability throughout his tenure at Kansas State.

"I look forward to us chasing championships together."

Wells has a 57-51 career record as a head coach, including a 44-34 mark at Utah State, where he led the Aggies to a pair of 10-win season in 2014 and 2018. He was not as successful at Texas Tech, gong 4-8 in his first two years before he was fired after eight games in 2021 with a 5-3 record, including 2-3 in the Big 12.

Arne Green is based in Salina and covers Kansas State University sports for the Gannett network. He can be reached at agreen@gannett.com or on Twitter at @arnegreen.

This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Kansas State football names Conor Riley offensive coordinator