Klausing was the head football coach at Pitcairn High School from 1948 to 1953 and Braddock High School from 1954 through 1959, where his teams won an unprecedented six consecutive Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic League (WPIAL) championships. His six teams at Braddock went 54–0–1 during that time span and broke the national undefeated record set by Massillon Washington High School. Klausing was head coach at Carnegie Mellon University from 1976 to 1985, winning six conference championships and making the NCAA Division III playoffs four times. He won the National Coach of the Year award by ABC-TV in 1979 and TBS 1983 during that time span.