Washington State hires South Dakota State's Jimmy Rogers as its next head football coach

The next era of Washington State football is here.

The Cougars are hiring Jimmy Rogers of South Dakota States as their next coach, WSU announced Saturday, ending a 10-day coaching search. According to ESPN, Rogers will sign a five-year deal worth approximately $1.57 million per year.

Rogers replaces Jake Dickert, who made about $2.7 million in his final season at WSU and left the Cougars earlier this month to become head coach at Wake Forest, ending his three-plus seasons at Pullman. It is the second major hire by new athletic director Anne McCoy, who brought over men's basketball coach David Riley from Eastern Washington in the spring.

According to a press release, an introductory press conference is planned for the week of January 6-10, with more details to follow.

Throughout the process, it was clear that Jimmy embodies the qualities needed to lead our program: character, passion, vision and dedication, McCoy said via release. His coaching ability is extremely high, as is his work ethic, and the value he places on mentoring the young men in his program is evident.

My family and I are thrilled for the opportunity to join the Washington State University community and lead Cougar football, Rogers said via release. WSU has a rich and storied football tradition and we are eager to begin the next chapter. When Ol Crimson flies into College GameDay and other locations across the country, it is immediately recognizable as the brand that represents Washington State University.

WSU finished the season 8-5, including Friday night's 52-35 loss to No. 22 Syracuse in the Holiday Bowl. The Cougars, who raced to an 8-1 start to the season, finished the year with four straight losses as nearly 30 players were in the transfer portal for the Holiday Bowl.

In two seasons at the helm, the Rogers Jackrabbits were 27-3, won the 2023 FCS championship in his debut season as head coach and then fell to North Dakota State in this season's national semifinals.

In 2023, the 37-year-old Rogers won the Eddie Robinson Award as the nation's top FCS coach, his first season with the Jackrabbits. He guided South Dakota State to a 15-0 record and its second straight FCS national title.

This season, the Jackrabbits finished 12-3.

Before being promoted to head coach in 2023, replacing John Stiegelmeier, Rogers served as defensive coordinator during SDSU's 2022 championship run. Rogers played linebacker on the Jackrabbits 2009 team, which earned the school's first FCS playoff berth.

After serving as co-defensive coordinator from 2019-2021, Rogers became the sole defensive coordinator for the 2022 season and helped the Jackrabbits lead the FCS in rush defense and interceptions while allowing the third-fewest points in the nation allowed. He was named FCS Coordinator of the Year that season.

Before returning to his alma mater as an assistant coach in 2013, Rogers spent the 2010 and 2011 seasons as the Jackrabbits GA, then went to Florida Atlantic in 2012 and 2013, also as a GA.

Rogers, a native of the Phoenix area, will have to replace many of the WSU players who engineered this season's run, including quarterback John Mateer, running back Wayshawn Parker, linebacker Buddah Al-Uqdah, cornerback Ethan OConnor and receiver Kris Hutson, all of whom have left via the transfer portal. Top receiver Kyle Williams will also graduate and exhaust his eligibility.

WSU quarterback Zevi Eckhaus, who backed up Mateer this season, completed 31 of 43 passes for 363 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions in the Holiday Bowl, making his first FBS start. After the game, he said he needed more time to decide his future as he considers whether to stay in the program.

The Cougars also have vacancies at offensive coordinator, defensive coordinator, running backs coach and quarterbacks coach, all of whom moved to different schools after WSU's regular season, with the exception of DC Jeff Schmedding, who fired Dickert early this month. It's unclear what the Rogers WSU staff will look like and whether the current coaches (receivers coach Nick Edwards, cornerbacks coach Allen Brown, offensive line coach Jared Kaster and interim head coach Pete Kaligis) will be retained.

Either way, it's possible Rogers could take SDSU quarterback Mark Gronowski, the 2023 Walter Payton Award winner, as the best offensive player in FCS.

Gronowski is an NFL draft prospect and will be eligible for one more season if he chooses to forgo the draft. This fall, Gronowski completed 206 of 338 passes (61%) for 2,721 yards, 23 touchdowns and seven interceptions.

South Dakota State star receiver Griffin Wilde also entered the transfer portal on Saturday with a “do not contact” tag in his entry, according to ESPN, often a sign that a player has a specific destination in mind when entering the portal.

Wilde had 71 receptions for 1,154 yards and 12 touchdowns this season, ranking him seventh in the nation in receiving yards.