He was a member of the Tulsa Oilers (CHL) team that suspended operations on February 16, 1984,[2] playing only road games for final six weeks of 1983–84 season.

[4] He was a scout for five years prior to assuming the head coaching position at organization's Lowell Devils AHL affiliate from 2006–07 to 2008–09.

[4] On July 13, 2009, it was announced that former Devils star John MacLean would replace Kleinendorst as the head coach of Lowell.

[4] When interviewed about taking the position with USA Hockey, Kleinendorst stated "I could’ve stayed with New Jersey as a scout, but I had already done that.

And when Jim Johannson called and asked me to think about this job, it was good timing [...] These are high-school age players and I remember what my high school coaches [at Grand Rapids] meant to me.

[10] Kleinendorst was announced as the new head coach of German DEL team ERC Ingolstadt on November 26, 2015[11] and had his contract renewed in March 2016.

[14] On April 25, 2019, Kleinendorst returned abroad to Germany after he was announced as head coach of the Nürnberg Ice Tigers of the DEL.

[15] On June 21, 2020, he resigned from the Ice Tigers' head coaching position citing the desire to spend more time with his family.