Report: Washington State to hire South Dakota State coach Jimmy Rogers

One of the most successful coaches in FCS football is heading to Washington State.

According to the Athletic, the Cougars are set to hire South Dakota State coach Jimmy Rogers. He will replace Jake Dickert after Dickert left to take the head coaching job at Wake Forest following Dave Clawson’s resignation.

Rogers took over at South Dakota State ahead of the 2023 season. SDSU went on to win the national title a season ago and lost to North Dakota State a week ago in the FCS semifinals. The loss to the Bison snapped a 29-game win streak against FCS opponents for the Jackrabbits.

Rogers took over as SDSU’s coach following longtime coach John Stiegelmeier’s retirement after the Jackrabbits won the national title at the conclusion of the 2022 season. A former player at SDSU, Rogers has been on the team’s coaching staff since the 2013 season.

At Washington State, Rogers takes over a program that saw success in 2024 following the destruction of the Pac-12. Wazzu started the season 8-1 before losing three straight games to end the regular season. The school then saw the price of success when your power conference no longer exists. Washington State offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle took the same job at Oklahoma before Dickert left. And star quarterback John Mateer entered the transfer portal to join Arbuckle at Oklahoma.

Dickert left Washington State after taking over midway through the 2021 season. The Cougars went 23-20 during his tenure and lost Friday night to Syracuse in the Holiday Bowl to finish the season at 8-5.