WSU hires Jimmy Rogers as 35th football coach
Jimmy Rogers was 27-3 as head coach of South Dakota State and helped lead the team to FCS national titles in 2022, as an assistant, and 2023 as head coach
Washington State has found its new head football coach just in time for the new year.
WSU announced the hire of Jimmy Rogers as its 35th football coach on Saturday.
Rogers was South Dakota State’s head coach the last two years, leading the Jackrabbits to a 27-3 record, including 6-1 in the Football Championship Subdivision playoffs.
In 2023, Rogers’ Jackrabbits won the FCS national championship and he won the Eddie Robinson Award, reserved for the best coach at the FCS level.
The Jackrabbits lost in the FCS semifinals this season, finishing 12-3.
“My family and I are thrilled for the opportunity to join the Washington State University community and lead Cougar football,” Rogers said in a news release. “WSU has a rich and storied football tradition, and we are eager to embark on the next chapter. When Ol’ Crimson flies at College GameDay and other sites across the country, it is immediately recognizable because of the brand that Washington State University represents. We are privileged to now represent this brand and are committed to lifting WSU to new heights in this new and exciting landscape of college football.”
WSU signed Rogers to a five-year contract that will pay him approximately $1.57 million annually, according to ESPN — about $1.1 million less than what his predecessor Jake Dickert made as WSU’s coach.
Dickert accepted the head coach position at Wake Forest last week after leading WSU to a 23-20 record over the past three-and-a-half seasons.
“Throughout the process, it was evident Jimmy embodies the qualities needed to lead our program: character, passion, vision and commitment,” WSU athletic director Anne McCoy said in a statement. “His coaching acumen is extremely high as is his work ethic, and the value he places on mentoring the young men in his program is evident.
“Jimmy will be a tremendous addition to Washington State University and the Pullman community, and we welcome he, his wife Haley, and their children Reese and Trace into the Cougar family.”
Before his two years as head coach, Rogers was the defensive coordinator for the Jackrabbits’ 2022 national championship team.
The 37-year-old coach has spent nearly his entire adult life at South Dakota State, his alma mater where he played linebacker and began his coaching career in 2010 and as a graduate assistant. He served as Florida Atlantic’s GA in 2012 and 2013, before returning to SDSU as a full-time assistant coach in 2013.
He rose to the co-defensive coordinator position in 2019 and became the sole DC in 2022. The Jackrabbits led the FCS in rushing defense and interceptions and Rogers was named FCS Coordinator of the Year after a season in which SDSU allowed the third-fewest points in the nation and won the 2022 national championship.
He was promoted to head coach the next season.
In 2024, Rogers led a Jackrabbits squad that led all FCS schools in scoring defense (12.4 points per game), was fourth in total defense (272.9 yards per game) and sixth in rushing defense (90.5 yards per game).
The South Dakota State offense was among the best in the FCS ranks as well, ranking first in sacks allowed (0.5) and tackles for loss allowed (2.58), while sitting third in rushing offense (243.2 yards per game), seventh in scoring offense (36.6 points per game) and ninth in total offense (441.9 yards per game).
Griffin Wilde, South Dakota State’s leading wide receiver, entered the transfer portal on Saturday with a “do not contact” tag. Wilde made 70 catches for 1,147 yards and 12 touchdowns in 2024 — the seventh-most receiving yards in the FCS.
SDSU quarterback Mark Gronowski was the 2023 Walter Payton Award winner as the top offensive player in FCS. He has one more season of NCAA eligibility, although he was widely expected to enter the 2025 NFL draft.
Rogers must reload a WSU roster that lost more than 30 players to the transfer portal after an 8-5 season and Holiday Bowl appearance.
Some Cougs left Pullman for larger name, image and likeness deals like QB John Mateer, who followed WSU’s former offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle to Oklahoma for a reported NIL package deal worth over $3 million.
Others, like defensive tackle David Gusta, left in the wake of Dickert’s departure.
Cornerback Steve Hall and wide receiver Josh Meredith played in WSU’s 52-35 DirecTV Holiday Bowl loss to No. 21 Syracuse on Friday despite entering the portal.
Rogers will have to rebuild a team that has lost 14 starters, including a QB to the SEC, true freshman running back Wayshawn Parker to Utah and leading tackler Buddah Al-Uqdah to WSU’s in-state rival Washington of the Big Ten.
WSU is also losing several starters to graduation, including linebacker Kyle Thornton and left tackle Esa Pole.
The transfer portal remains open until mid-January for WSU players and for the next 30 days for South Dakota State players. The portal will open again in the spring.
Rogers will lead WSU through a peculiar 2025 schedule for the Cougars’ final year in a two-school Pac-12.
WSU opens the 2025 season with the Battle of the Palouse versus Idaho and the Vandals’ first-year coach Thomas Ford Jr. on Aug. 30 at Gesa Field in Pullman.
Taylor can be reached at 208-848-2268, staylor@lmtribune.com or on X (formerly Twitter) @Sam_C_Taylor.
