Washington State is set to hire South Dakota State's Jimmy Rogers to be its next head coach, with a deal expected to be finalized soon, sources told ESPN on Saturday.
Rogers, 37, coached South Dakota State to an FCS national title in 2023 after serving as the team's defensive coordinator in 2022, when the team won its first national championship. He's set to replace Jake Dickert, who left earlier this month to become head coach at Wake Forest after three-plus seasons as WSU coach.
The Cougars ended their season Friday after losing 52-35 to Syracuse in the DirecTV Holiday Bowl. Washington State had focused its search for Dickert's replacements on FCS head coaches, sources said.
Rogers played linebacker at South Dakota State and started his coaching career at his alma mater in 2010. He spent two seasons with Florida Atlantic before returning to South Dakota State as linebackers coach in 2013.
Washington State must reload after losing Dickert, offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle, star quarterback John Mateer and others after a season that it began at 8-1.
South Dakota State standout wide receiver Griffin Wilde entered the transfer portal earlier Saturday with a do not contact tag in his entry.
ESPN's Kyle Bonagura contributed to this report.
