New WSU coach Jimmy Rogers won’t accept losing, from himself or his players
Scott Hanson
The Seattle Times
Jan. 27, 2025 at 5:14 pm
Jimmy Rogers said he has never been through a rebuild and he has no plans to go through one now as Washington State’s new football coach.
Rogers, in Seattle this week to meet high school coaches and to do a media tour, said he expects success right away. He is not shy in saying the Cougars can someday win a national championship, even in this age of NIL money and the transfer portal, when other programs have a lot more money to spend.
“I just don’t want to even talk about accepting losing,” said Rogers, who never experienced a losing year in 19 seasons at South Dakota State as a player, assistant coach and head coach. “Why would anybody do that? I don’t want to hear accepting losing — like it’s OK for this to be a rebuild year. I’m not going to accept it out of myself, so why would I allow it from the players?”
Rogers has been quite busy since it was announced Dec. 28 that he had been hired as the coach. He has filled his coaching staff with his coaches from South Dakota State, convinced WSU players who had entered the transfer portal to change their mind, including quarterback Zevi Eckhaus, received several commitments from the transfer portal and has gotten 16 commitments from high school players.
Asked what has stood out in the first month, and Rogers was quick to mention how open WSU’s players were to new players coming in and to the new staff.
“They’ve been great, and I was kind of shocked by that, honestly,” Rogers said, “Our first team meeting was awesome. I was expecting a little bit more of a reserved nature and to be kind of almost scared. And they weren’t that at all. It was really open.”
Rogers took over as head coach of South Dakota State in 2023, replacing his mentor John Stiegelmeier, who had led the Jackrabbits to the FCS national title in 2022.
Rogers, who was promoted from his job as defensive coordinator, led South Dakota State to the national title in his first season, going 15-0. The Jackrabbits were 12-3 last season, losing in the semifinals.
You might think Rogers would have felt pressure taking over a team that won the national title the season before, and now again taking over at WSU, but you would be wrong.
“I don’t get too much into the pressure of things; this is football,” said Rogers, 37. “You’ve got to be confident in what you do, and as long as you know that you gave it your best, that’s all you can ask. … I don’t get caught up in other people’s emotions. I’ve got a job to do, and my job is to try to develop a football team, not just win over [the] fan base or be a fan favorite.
“I don’t care about those things. I care about the players in which I coach and staff in which I have the opportunity to work with, and that’s my focus.”
Rogers had one of the best quarterbacks in FCS the past two seasons at South Dakota State, Mark Gronowski, who is transferring to Iowa. But as successful as Gronowski was, the Jackrabbits ran the ball more than they threw it.
That’s because Rogers is a heavy believer in a strong running game, which will be a change for Cougar fans after many years of the Air Raid offense.
“It can’t be one dimensional,” Rogers said of the offense. “We’re going to create a balance and utilize our skill set. You can’t just live with one, otherwise the defense will find a way to take care of that.
“If you’ve watched the teams that have been competitive and won a national championship, they have had the ability to run the football, and part of that stems from you have to be able to run the football when it gets into December and January, when the weather gets colder. You play in unique places, and you don’t want to rely on weather to be the reason why you lose a game because you can’t throw the ball [in that weather].”
Rogers said that Eckhaus, who threw for 353 yards and accounted for four touchdowns (three passing) in WSU’s 52-35 loss to Syracuse in the Holiday Bowl, will be the presumed No. 1 quarterback heading into spring football.
“More than just watching him [in the Holiday Bowl], it’s been the overall collective response of the team and believing in Zevi,” Rogers said of Eckhaus, who starred for three seasons at Bryant, an FCS school, before transferring to WSU. “Every player has talked about him as a leader. Every player has talked about him as far as just his overall confidence in himself. And you can feel that when you talk to him. He’s a confident kid, and he’s got real confidence. So when your quarterback has that, and people around him believe in him, I think that’s half the battle.”
Asked if he has the resources at WSU to be a national title contender, Rogers answered by saying he has more money than he ever has had to work with. Keeping players will be key, something Rogers was successful at during his time at South Dakota State.
Rogers said many turned down six-figure offers to stay at South Dakota State, and he wants to get the same type of individuals to come to WSU.
“It takes relationships, and it takes a buy-in,” Rogers said. “It takes community, and it takes the former players coming back and wanting to be a part of something and being present. What I mean about being present is creating a former players association where players get back together and they go to golf tournaments and reconnect with former friends they took this journey with.
“I think those things are important. Because when your current team gets to see the former players experience lifelong relationships, it makes a difference in the long term, them wanting to be a part of something, and not just a short-term stint at one place and then the next.”
Scott Hanson: shanson@seattletimes.com.
