Flights to Winston Salem on departure list. Looks like it might be real unless someone is ****ing around.
Dickert may be gone
- Thread starter chugspig
- Start date
That’s a pretty routine route. I just made the same trip last week. Tough to get a first class upgrade too.
Forgive the ignorance, but how does someone know that Dickert is on a aircraft flying to Winston-Salem?
I know. Someone from Cougfan planted an AirTag in his carry-on!
Jake Dickert, Wake Forest and flight tracking: Coincidence or is WSU going to need a new coach?
Intrigue swells around Cougar coach and possible move to the Demon Deacons
COUGFANcom
WSU coach Jake Dickert (Photo: Cougfan.com/Whittney Thornton)
THE LAST TIME AN aircraft in Pullman garnered this much attention from Cougar sports fans, Mike Price took off for Tuscaloosa on Paul Bryant Jr.'s private plane. Late Tuesday, some enterprising WSU fans spotted an unusual pairing on the worldwide aircraft tracking system FlightAware: a twin-jet Cessna Citation Sovereign set to depart Pullman for Winston-Salem, N.C., at 10:48 this morning and arrive at 5:38 p.m. Eastern time.
Sure, there could be some connection to Schweitzer Engineering or the region's esteemed soft white wheat and lentil production. But the timing is mighty curious given that Wake Forest University -- located in Winston-Salem -- is looking for a new football coach and WSU head man Jake Dickert is reported by a variety of media outlets to be one of the Demon Deacons' prime targets.
Whether all the pieces connect remains to be seen, but speculation exploded on social media and in the Cougfan.com VIP Suites forum.
We should know quickly this morning if Dickert is on board the twin-jet at 10:48 because he's scheduled to talk with reporters, at around 11:15 a.m., following the Cougars' closed-door practice.
Cougfan.com made several calls late Tuesday to people well-connected in the WSU sports world and, to a person, the notion of Dickert to Wake Forest was met with surprise.
Wake Forest went 4-8 in each of the last two seasons, prompting coach Dave Clawson to resign this week after 11 seasons and a 67-69 record. He led Wake Forest to the school's second-ever ACC title in 2006. The Demon Deacons' football history is something of a roller-coaster, as they've concluded only five seasons over the last eight decades ranked nationally. (For the record, WSU in that span has been nationally ranked at the conclusion of 12 seasons.)
Dickert, 41, is 23-20 at WSU since taking over for Nick Rolovich midway through the 2021 season. The Cougars are preparing for their third bowl under Dickert, who arrived on the Palouse in 2020 as Rolovich's defensive coordinator. He signed a contract extension in January 2023 that runs though the 2027 season.
Why would Dickert want to make a move to Wake Forest?
- The Deacons are in the ACC, a power conference. While the future of that conference looks precarious, its team aren't going through the deep budget-cutting tumult that WSU athletics is in the midst of following the implosion of the original Pac-12.
- Clawson's salary was nearly $4.8 million this season. Dickert's is $2.7 million -- and way out of sync, on the high side, to the market rate of the teams coming into the Pac-12. He took a 10 percent pay cut in the current fiscal year and is likely headed for another cut in the upcoming year.
- The school has invested heavily in football facilities in recent years, opening the McCreary Football Complex in 2023, the Sutton Performance Center in 2019 and an indoor practice facility in 2016
- The transfer portal is crushing the Cougars right now, with 11 starters or part-time starters, entering since it opened last week.
NOTABLE:
- 247sports' DemonDeaconsDigest.com reported Tuesday that "James Madison head coach Bob Chesney, former West Virginia head coach Neal Brown and Washington State head coach Jake Dickert" are the names they're hearing most. Sources tell them the aim is to conclude the search by Thursday or Friday.
- Wake Forest's athletic director is John Currie, the same John Currie who was fired at Tennessee in 2017 one day after offering the Vols' head coaching job to then-Cougar coach Mike Leach. Prior to that, Currie was the AD at Kansas State for the entirely of Kirk Schulz's presidency there.
- If Dickert does indeed become the coach at Wake Forest, one might presume WSU would take a long look at pulling out of the Holiday Bowl on Dec. 27. The staff is ready down four positions and it stands to reason Dickert would take much of the rest with him.
- At the time this story went to press we were unable to determine how much Dickert would owe WSU as part of the buyout clause in his contract. Offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle, who just left Washington State for Oklahoma, owes WSU a $450,000 buyout.
If all parties were smart the interview would have taken place already somewhere else. On a recruiting trip, maybe in Vegas… somewhere to avoid this attention. If he is flying to campus now it is to meet whoever is gonna put a final stamp of approval on his hiring. Just my free 3 cents. Guess we will find out soon enough. Prob has some questions to answer from players at practice…
Dickert has to plan for his future as well, players are doing it, other coaches are doing it. A vast majority of coaches are getting raises, at WSU, per rumors, coaches are being asked to take a pay cut. The WSU admin said they could continue to compete at a power 5 level, actions seem to suggest other wise. Wake Forest might actually have a worse overall record than WSU, but they do have more money committed to their program. The lack of commitment to the football program from WSU will negatively impact the university not only on the football field, but in all areas of the university.
