Rogers heads over to WSU after leading the Jackrabbits to an FCS National Championship in the 2023 season.
It took perhaps longer than some would have liked, but the Washington State Cougars have found their next football coach. Ross Dellenger reported today that the Cougs have hired Jimmy Rogers away from the South Dakota State Jackrabbits, where he has a national title and a 27-3 record to his name in two seasons as a head coach. He coached the Jackrabbits to a semifinal appearance this season, where they fell to the rival North Dakota State Bison.
It is a five-year deal for Rogers, according to ESPN.
Rogers, 37, played linebacker for the Jackrabbits from 2005-2009 before becoming a graduate assistant for two seasons at his alma mater. He spent two more seasons as a GA at FAU before returning to Brookings, South Dakota, in 2013 to become the Jackrabbits linebacker coach. He worked his way up to co-defensive coordinator and assistant head coach in 2019, then became the full-time defensive coordinator in 2022. His defense held their opponents to 15.8 points per game that season, and his efforts were rewarded with the FCS Coordinator of the Year award. In 2023, he took the reins from long-time head coach John Stiegelmeier and, in his first season at the helm, led the Jackrabbits to their second straight national championship, going a perfect 15-0.
While Rogers has had clear success at SDSU, his first season at WSU will be only his third as a head coach at any level.
As a defensive-minded coach, Rogers is a change of pace from past external WSU hires. Though both Jake Dickert and Bill Doba were both WSU defensive coordinators turned head coaches, the last time WSU brought in a defensive coordinator to become the head coach was Jackie Sherrill, who coached just one season for the Cougs in 1976. His successor, Warren Power, was a defensive back coach for Nebraska the year prior and also only coached one season.
Rogers will have a lot on his plate from the jump. Next season figures to be a difficult one for the Cougs with plenty of portal defections and another year of college football purgatory prior to the Pac-12 restarting in earnest in 2026. Though they still need to add at least one football school. To put it mildly, this is not a program in excellent shape right now.
Though Rogers has limited experience leading a program, he has already proved to have great success with two national championship rings already. It should also be noted that Rogers spent 18 seasons playing for and coaching with Stiegelmeier as he turned the Jackrabbits into a consistent FCS playoff team and national championship contender.