Ron Prince Ron Prince ( born September 18 , 1969 ) is an American football coach , currently the assistant head coach and tight ends coach for the Detroit Lions of the National Football League . College coaching career . Prince succeeded head coach Bill Snyder at Kansas State following the 2005 season . When he started his first season at Kansas State , in 2006 , he was 36 years old and the third - youngest head coach in the Division I - Bowl Subdivision . During the 2006 season , Prince led Kansas State to its first winning record since 2003 with a 7 – 6 mark , as well as a berth in the inaugural Texas Bowl . The hallmark win of the regular season was a 45 – 42 upset of then # 4 Texas on November 11 , 2006 . Kansas State lost the 2006 Texas Bowl to # 16 Rutgers , 37 – 10 . In Prince ' s second season , Kansas State slipped to a 5 – 7 record , including a four - game losing streak to end the year . He also led the Wildcats to their first home loss against Kansas in over a decade . On National Signing Day in February 2008 , 19 junior college recruits signed to play football at Kansas State , although only 15 of them were able to enroll in the fall . As a result , Kansas State ' s 2008 recruiting class reportedly contains more junior college players than any other class ever compiled by current BCS teams . Some have criticized this as " panicking " to get good players , while others have praised Prince ' s moves , pointing out his predecessor Bill Snyder ' s success with using junior college players . At the beginning of Prince ' s third season , on August 7 , 2008 , Ron Prince agreed to a new contract through the 2012 season . The deal was retroactive to January 1 , 2008 , and ran through December 31 , 2012 , replacing the original contract signed in December 2005 . Prince ' s base salary for 2008 was $ 143 , 000 with a total guaranteed package of $ 1 . 1 million , which also included payments from endorsements such as television , radio , internet , personal appearances and apparel . Prince could have earned up to an additional $ 950 , 000 per year in performance - based incentives . On November 5 , 2008 , Prince was fired from his position as head coach . He received a $ 1 . 2 million buyout and an additional $ 150 , 000 of a $ 250 , 000 longevity bonus . In 2009 , Prince was rehired by the University of Virginia as special teams coach . Before coaching at Kansas State University , Prince served for three seasons as offensive coordinator under Al Groh at the University of Virginia , and for a total of five years as the Cavaliers ' offensive line coach . Prior to first stint at Virginia , Prince also served as an assistant coach at South Carolina State , James Madison and Cornell . K - State buyout . On May 20 , 2009 , Kansas State University and its athletic corporation filed suit to have an allegedly secret agreement between Prince and former athletic director Bob Krause declared invalid . Krause negotiated the agreement in 2008 with Prince ' s attorney , Ohio sports agent Neil Cornrich . The agreement required Kansas State to pay a total of $ 3 . 2 million in three deferred payments to a corporation called In Pursuit of Perfection , LLC , if the school terminated Prince before December 31 , 2008 . The payments were scheduled to be made in 2015 , 2016 , and 2020 . The agreement was entered into separately by Krause on the same day that Prince signed a five - year contract extension , on August 7 , 2008 . The agreement was allegedly discovered on May 11 , 2009 , as the university responded to " routine informational requests " for a lawsuit involving former coach Tim Tibesar . University president Jon Wefald denied any prior knowledge of this agreement and immediately called for Krause to resign , which he did , effective May 20 , 2009 . In a subsequent release , interim Kansas State athletic director Jim Epps stated : " On May 11 , 2009 , I learned of a secret deferred compensation agreement that Bob Krause apparently negotiated with Ron Prince ' s attorney . This alleged deal was made without the knowledge of anyone else in the athletics department , including its attorney . This deal was apparently constructed as a further supplement to the buyout provision contained in Prince ' s employment contract . I do not know why any additional supplement was justified , or why Bob Krause concealed this agreement from everyone until it was inadvertently discovered last week . " On August 10 , 2009 , attorneys for Prince filed a counterclaim against Kansas State Athletics seeking $ 3 million in punitive damages . The filings claim that Wefald and other high - ranking members of the athletic department were aware at all times of the agreement . The claim also contended that Krause directed the department ' s attorney to reword the public contract to allow for a supplemental buyout . Kansas State University announced on May 6 , 2011 that an agreement for settlement between Prince and K - State Athletics , Inc . and the University had been reached . K - State Athletics , Inc . will pay one lump sum of $ 1 . 65 million to Prince ' s company , In Pursuit of Perfection , LLC , on or before May 25 , 2011 . This is in addition to the $ 1 . 2 million Prince had already received per his employment contract , for a total buyout payment of $ 2 . 85 million . K - State President Kirk Schulz stated : " We are pleased to have this matter resolved . We appreciate the work that our University counsel has provided during this process and can now maintain focus on moving forward as a University community . " K - State Athletics , Inc . reported paying $ 395 , 000 in external legal fees during the dispute . The University made the agreement public as a news release and was bound to provide this statement : " Neither the University nor K - State Athletics contends or believes that in negotiating his employment agreement or the MOU , Coach Prince engaged in any wrongful or unethical conduct . Discovery has demonstrated that this situation was not of Coach Prince ’ s making . " Professional coaching . On March 21 , 2010 , the Indianapolis Colts announced the hiring of Prince as the assistant offensive line coach . On January 31 , 2012 , Prince was fired by new Colts head coach Chuck Pagano . In February 2012 , Prince was hired as assistant offensive line coach by the Jacksonville Jaguars and new head coach Mike Mularkey . Return to college coaching - Rutgers University . Prince was hired as offensive coordinator of the Rutgers Scarlet Knights on February 19 , 2013 . NFL return . On January 18 , 2014 , Prince was hired as the assistant head coach and tight ends coach of the Detroit Lions . New Lions head coach Jim Caldwell had previously worked with Prince on the staff of the Indianapolis Colts . Personal information . Although Prince was born in Nebraska , he was raised in Junction City , Kansas , a town 20 minutes west of Kansas State ' s campus in Manhattan , Kansas . He was raised by Ernest and Georgeanne Prince . Prince has three sons , Deuce , James , and John , and a daughter named Grace . Prince attended Junction City High School , where he graduated in 1988 . He began his college football career at Dodge City Community College , then transferred to Appalachian State University , where he graduated and played on the offensive line under coach Jerry Moore . Head coaching record . Record against Big 12 teams . < / div >