What’s the consensus on the hire?
- Thread starter kougkurt
- Start date
What happened with Vigen? Was Rogers a fall back choice?
I have to look at results and that is what matters. Rogers has a great record. For that alone, he's seems like a good choice. If he has a couple of good seasons at Wazzu, he will move on fast (but we all know this by now).
If I had any concern, it would be whether he was mostly living off what was already established at SDSU. However, we have seen how fast programs can degrade if they don't have a good coach (Petersen to Lake, for example).
I wonder if Zevi will stay? He certainly has options.
I have to look at results and that is what matters. Rogers has a great record. For that alone, he's seems like a good choice. If he has a couple of good seasons at Wazzu, he will move on fast (but we all know this by now).
If I had any concern, it would be whether he was mostly living off what was already established at SDSU. However, we have seen how fast programs can degrade if they don't have a good coach (Petersen to Lake, for example).
I wonder if Zevi will stay? He certainly has options.
I'll get back to you in 2 years. That's all I have to say about that.
They promoted him to HC after 10 years in the program which was likely the perfect plan to maintain the roster and momentum. WSU is a rebuild so circumstances are different. He’s also allegedly bringing staff with little to no experience recruiting the west coast so I’m a bit with Krusty on a who knows prediction but I didn’t sit in the interview, he may have blown us away. Apparently he’s really well thought of in coaching circles so that’s encouraging so im fairly optimistic with a few reservations (Ron first O on the Palouse?) but that was going to be the case with anyone we hired based on our conference situation/finances.
He checks some boxes, doesn’t check others. None of the coaches rumored to be on the short list were going to check every box.
I like the head coaching experience. He won at a high level at FCS. I like that he’s young. Concerns for me- lifer at South Dakota State means a limited coaching tree, staff has essentially zero FBS experience, not sure about his ability to recruit, I have serious questions about whether the offense will work here.
What could go wrong running the ball 67% of the time, like SDakSU ? You don't need big quick footed OLs or a featured running back to run the ball effectively, right? Aren't high end OLs and RBs easy to get on the cheap and have little NIL portal value? If we can run the ball it will take pressure off the defense right, leading to success, right?
The last time WSU ran more that we passed was 2005, I believe. Jerome kicked butt, 176 yards a game on the ground, nearly 2000 yards. We ended up 4-7, 1-7 in conference. Then there is Rueben, the GOAT, 2877 yards in 1984-85, Pac-10 player of the year. Ended up 10-12, 7-8 in conference.
Unless Rogers does a Ken Miumataolo, it has gone from bad to even worse.
The last time WSU ran more that we passed was 2005, I believe. Jerome kicked butt, 176 yards a game on the ground, nearly 2000 yards. We ended up 4-7, 1-7 in conference. Then there is Rueben, the GOAT, 2877 yards in 1984-85, Pac-10 player of the year. Ended up 10-12, 7-8 in conference.
Unless Rogers does a Ken Miumataolo, it has gone from bad to even worse.
The truth on how smart he is as a coach will be based on how the opposition reads the plays.
Just because you know the offense is running the ball doesn't mean you can stop it.
How, when, who blocks where...
It would also show him as dumb if he has a great passing QB and doesn't use him accordingly.
Zero reason to call him out on anything yet other than he seems to know more about winning than losing... and using what he can get.
Just because you know the offense is running the ball doesn't mean you can stop it.
How, when, who blocks where...
It would also show him as dumb if he has a great passing QB and doesn't use him accordingly.
Zero reason to call him out on anything yet other than he seems to know more about winning than losing... and using what he can get.
It takes a special kind of fan to criticize somebody who has been wildly successful in his young career, before the first word of the press conference has been uttered.
But Jim Walden’s record is meaningless. He saved WSU from going to the WAC. There are unconfirmed rumors that he also saved Oregon and Oregon State because they sucked bigly in the 70s and 80s too. But, unless you were on campus to experience the greatness of God Coach Jim Walden you wouldn’t understand. I’ve read this on this board so it must be true. Especially the WSU would be in the WAC part.
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Brand X said, reported, according to The Couch GM, that WSU was seriously looking at Vigen, and that Vigen wanted the job, and interviewed, but that WSU, Schultz, Anne McCoy, search firm, etc, stupidly turned down the better Vigen candidate that better candidate then Roger's, and then hired Rogers.
That way the search firm/agent can make two placements (commissions) and not just one.
Vigen will sign somewhere after the playoffs
I’m not a huge fan of the hire. We went cheap. 1.5M. That’s on WSU. UNLV is paying Mullins 3.5M.
He’s bringing all his current staff. I’d like some recruiting ties and experienced coordinators -personally.
I hope I’m wrong,but this wreaks of budget hire not the best guy for the job. .
He’s bringing all his current staff. I’d like some recruiting ties and experienced coordinators -personally.
I hope I’m wrong,but this wreaks of budget hire not the best guy for the job. .
We went after a young, well regarded FCS head coach at a time when we needed to scale back our head coaching salary. I would have done the same thing if I were in charge. There are always concerns about guys with limited coaching experience making the step up to FBS ball, but I like the fact that he emphasizes defense and offensive line play. WSU will always attract solid QB candidates, particularly in the portal era. Minshew, Ward, and Mateer have parlayed their WSU experience into big paydays. That should be an easy sell for a coach who's already a highly regarded recruiter.
I believe if he coached WSU this year, with the 104th ranked schedule according to ESPN’s power index, he could have gotten the same results and likely better than DickTurd.
I do not believe DickTurd could have coached SDSU to the same result he did. I think it would have been much, much worse.
I do not believe DickTurd could have coached SDSU to the same result he did. I think it would have been much, much worse.
McCoy and Schulz get a budget hire that will get three years to allow both of them to retire and let the next regime figure it out.
Acquiring players is not the same as it used to be even a few years ago. Recruiting high school players is still important, but it is not as important as it used to be. Until the system is fixed, it will be a revolving door of players. High school players like Mateer, O'Conner, Din-Mbuh, etc, will leave.
It is just as important to work the portal to replace them. You are then recruiting players from across the country. So honestly, in today's college football, having no recruiting ties to the west coach is not a program killer anymore.
It is just as important to work the portal to replace them. You are then recruiting players from across the country. So honestly, in today's college football, having no recruiting ties to the west coach is not a program killer anymore.
A glimmer of sanity. Agree with the above, except that there are many, if not dozens, of FCS and G5 head coaches that WSU could have gotten for $1.5M (or whatever the number is).
I suggest that you all go to the SDSU FB site and read up on their coaching staff. Link below. This is Wulff-like. Except for a couple of grad assistantships, NONE of them have any FBS experience. And notice their recruiting areas. The closest to "West Coast" areas is Colorado.
Also of note, and I will have to dig to find the article, apparently none of the current SDSU assistants are viewed as potential candidates to succeed Rogers. What does that tell you about how great they all are?
And if, as I'm reading, this Gronowski (QB) stays another year and comes to WSU, where does that leave Eckhaus? Look for him to jump into the portal. I believe that he gets an extension to declare due to Dickert leaving.
Finally, Rogers, as we have read, plans to bring most or all of his staff and apparently a bunch of his players, to WSU. Sounds Wulffian to me. And what does that say about his loyalty? You get the HC gig at your alma mater, then turn around 2 years later and gut them?
Football Coaches - South Dakota State University Athletics
The official Football Coach List for the South Dakota State University Jackrabbits
gojacks.com
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Who knows, maybe they will just have to figure out how big of a raise to give him and how long to extend his existing contract.
Having the ability to properly evaluate and attract portal players is likely going to be THE most important ability/talent that he will need. Does anyone have any info on how he did at that at SDSU in his short tenure there?
I agree with others' takes on this in that he's not a perfect candidate by any means, but it's an understandable hire. Some positives and some negatives.
I'd rather pay a candidate like this a solid but not excessive salary for our conference than try to show how big we are by overpaying for what was in the leftover bin this late in the game (outside of the FCS or FBS playoff coaching staffs who still are in it).
Not that these were our choices, for example, but I'd prefer this to some folly like paying Mora $3m a year or whatever else we could imagine McCoy doing. An attempted "legit P4" hire with the current financial situation and lightweights running the show likely would have an upside of an Ernie Kent situation at best.
What we pay now means absolutely nothing. How quickly we come in with a deserved extension which includes a huge buyout means everything. As soon as you know he’s the right guy you double down like a big boy school would. And if you realize he’s not, you cut bait as quickly as you can. Jusy cuz you’re paying him $1.8 doesn’t mean that’s who he is. He could be the next Nick Saban who TF knows at this point.
Yeah, agreed. I understand, but don't find remotely compelling, the arguments from those saying we should pay the guy more out of the box to appear more legitimate or say we pay our coach the most in the conference. Especially now. If the guy's qualifications and alternatives merit starting out at $1.8m (or less), there's no reason to pay him $2.3 or whatever to start. It's the same guy. Just more you're stuck with if he fails, and you're going to have to extend him quickly (and should) if he does well. Then you get the positive news flow from the extension with the raise once he's shown it's deserved and is an appropriate reaction to market forces.
I think the actual argument is that you should go pay bigger money for a more “well known name”. This made all the sense in the world with Leach because he was forced from coaching when he wasn’t done yet. I think more often than not this thinking at a school like WSU lands you a Charlie Weiss…a big check to pay for a guy that’s washed. Big name coordinators are always a wild card. Venables was the best DC and he’s dogshit as a head coach.
This hire looks fine to me but who knows. The market is what it is, if someone else wanted him for $2M and we couldn’t match then he probably wouldn’t be coaching for us.
What Jimmy Rogers’ contract says about WSU’s commitment to football
Jon Wilner
Dec. 29, 2024
Roughly 18 hours after the 2024 season concluded, Washington State found a coach for 2025 and beyond.
The Hotline won’t move as swiftly to render judgment (good or bad) on the decision to hire Jimmy Rogers.
Nothing against Rogers, but his résumé is a tad thin. The 37-year-old has been a head coach for just two seasons, both at South Dakota State.
That doesn’t limit his ceiling. In recent years, numerous coaches with roots in the lower levels have thrived upon moving into the FBS, including Kansas State’s Chris Klieman (North Dakota State), Indiana’s Curt Cignetti (James Madison), Kansas’ Lance Leipold (Wisconsin-Whitewater) and Alabama’s Kalen DeBoer (Sioux Falls).
Also, Rogers’ short stint running the Jackrabbits was indisputably successful, with 27 wins in 30 games and an FCS national championship (in 2023).
But his limited experience leading a program and lack of experience at the major college level suggests a wait-and-see approach is warranted.
That’s doubly true considering Rogers has not named a coaching staff. The pick for offensive coordinator will be particularly important given that Rogers’ background, as a player and assistant, is on defense.
There is one certainty to the process in Pullman, however, and it should be cause for concern among WSU constituents: The Cougars signed Rogers to a five-year contract that will pay $1.57 million annually, according to published reports.
Not only is the compensation figure $1 million less than Jake Dickert earned this season, it’s $1 million less than Dickert was paid when they named him permanent head coach in the fall of 2021.
Back then, Dickert was an interim boss (after Nick Rolovich’s in-season dismissal). Yet the Cougars handed him a deal worth $2.7 million annually. Three years later, they sign Rogers for 40% less.
Circumstances have changed, obviously. The Pac-12’s collapse forced WSU to navigate a massive drop in annual revenue. But the extent to which the university would continue to fund its football program at a competitive level was somewhat unknown, at least until Dickert departed for Wake Forest last week.
Our focus turned to WSU’s next move — not who the Cougars would hire so much as what they would pay.
Would the administration offer a salary comparable to those on the bottom tier of Power Four programs?
Or equivalent to those on the top tier of the Group of Five?
For that matter, how much would WSU’s next head coach earn relative to his peers in the rebuilt Pac-12?
In our view, the answer would offer insight into the university’s plans for funding football in the next era.
Here’s what we know:
Rogers will earn substantially less than Oregon State’s first-year coach, Trent Bray, who made $2 million this season (per USA Today’s salary database). He will earn less than East Carolina’s Mike Houston, Navy’s Brian Newberry and Temple’s Stan Drayton.
In fact, Rogers’ average salary would compare poorly to compensation for coaches in the revamped Pac-12, based on their published earning for 2024:
(Figures rounded)
Oregon State’s Trent Bray: $2 million
Colorado State’s Jay Norvell: $1.8 million
San Diego State’s Sean Lewis: $1.8 million
WSU’s Jimmy Rogers: $1.6 million
Boise State’s Spencer Danielson: $1.1 million
Now, context is required:
— Fresno State is also joining the Pac-12 in 2026 but had an interim coach this season, Tim Skipper, who won’t return next fall. The Bulldogs recently named Matt Entz as the permanent coach. His salary reportedly will average $1.5 million, a tick lower than Rogers’ compensation.
— Utah State also had an interim coach this season, Nate Dreiling, and recently hired Bronco Mendenhall for the permanent position. His starting salary will be $2 million, per KSL.com.
— Boise State is reworking Danielson’s contract, and it’s safe to assume the revised deal will include a hefty raise that pushes him above Rogers’ average salary.
Put another way: It appears Rogers’ average compensation over his five-year deal would rank sixth among the seven coaches at schools participating in the Pac-12 in 2026 — ahead of only Entz.
That isn’t exactly a top-market salary for the Group of Five, and it’s below our modest expectations for the Cougars.
But let’s wait for Rogers to fill out his coaching staff before drawing initial conclusions on the funding level for WSU football.
And even then, it’s difficult to know the Cougars’ long-haul financial trajectory because there’s a void at the top of the university.
Once WSU names a new president — Kirk Schulz is retiring this summer — full clarity on the university’s commitment to its football program will come into focus.
Until that point, we’ll reserve final judgment on the Rogers hire. Without the requisite resources, he won’t stand a chance.
Jon Wilner: jwilner@bayareanewsgroup.com.
Well shit. Checked my watch and it was broken. Said to myself "Huh! Must be time to go see what Wilner says today". (If you don't stalk me, you won't get the joke
)Sure enough, Wilner writes something that I agree with! Although I think his tirade about the salary is a bit much. I had figured on $2.0M as the right number - but sure as hell not for Rogers! That said, $1.6 vs $1.8? So what?
Anyway, it is a 600% raise for Rogers, and I'm sure a big raise for any of the SDSU assistants that follow him. I did take a shot of the WSU assistant's salaries so we can compare those later. I'm so thoughtful and far-seeing I amaze even myself!
I agree on the "big name" thing. It worked with Leach because his reputation was still tarnished at the time and his core competency, running a program that would win most of its games in a power conference despite low-end resources, was perfectly suited for WSU and something he had actually done.
Getting a second- or third-rate "name" who had some measure of success, often in an entirely different context, like in the NFL or in a college program with more talent most weeks and tons of resources, but who nobody with a better situation now wants due to whatever failures, flaws, and/or time out of the game has occurred, just about always will be a terrible move at WSU. With you on that.
I was speaking about a different thing I've observed -- we often have people claim we have to pay above the market when a coach's qualifications don't merit that. It's largely separate from who we hire, with some claiming we should pay almost as much for a completely unproven, young FCS guy, or an interim promotion with no other options who nobody else would hire (e.g., Dickert a few years ago), as we would if we had gone out and hired an experienced coach with a resume, since we "can't look cheap." Obviously, if you have to pay the guy a certain amount to get him to take the job, you do, but otherwise, it is dumb, especially for a school with severe financial limitations like WSU.
Huge yellow flag for me personally.
Let's take a peek at defensive coaches.
1) Kyle Whittingham. Has he really been good for QB's? The best one is the stork and he has been slightly above marginal in my eyes.
2) Justin Wilcox. Has he had a QB yet?
3) Jim Mora. Not a big sample size but I don't remember his QB's be anywhere near Tuel, Halliday, Falk, Minshew, Gordon etc.
4) Bill Doba- Brink was good, Roger, Lopina, Lobster?
5) Jonathan Smith- while he is not a defensive guy, he is a run first guy. An anomaly in the former Pac 12. How many good QB's has he developed? They have always been horrible at that position. We may be the next home of Gebbia light. QB's want to chuck the ball, not hand it off.
I am not sure if it is a system or a talent evaluation, or QB's want to throw and not run the ball 67% of the time, but whatever it is for the defensive coaches they sure struggle getting good talent at the QB position.
This hire reminds me of several hires in both bball and football.
Wulff resume looks to be a resume Rogers has. Limited contacts, limited exposure to schemes and ideas.
Doba, limited head coaching experience. Defensive mind and limited success on the other side of the ball; and recruiting was way down because of it. (or contributed to it)
Ken Bone very successful at PSU, and had success at Washington as an assistant. However, he changed Tony's system, a system that was working at WSU. Not knowing the landscape in Pullman, he assumed he would get the Seattle kids to come to Pullman, and he did not.
Dickert knew to stay out of the offenses way, so he gets credit for that, and he was not scared to fire someone for not doing the job, but he like the others had limited contacts and are tied to the Craig Bohl tree.
Not being in a conference, not having the revenue, the portal and NIL has probably put us back to 2013 or before, maybe more like 2010
Why we sign these coaches to a 5 year contract is beyond me. It would take Rogers 5 years to make what he will make in one year at WSU. With the portal, changing landscape, not sure why any school will pay a coach more than 3 years. They no longer need the "time" to rebuild a team.
I hope I am pleasantly surprised....both on and off the field.
Nice post Ed! And I'm dead serious. I did read an article on some other coach, and his 5-year contract was not guaranteed if dismissed without cause. Something like 60% in the final couple of years. Hopefully ours is similarly written. Pause. What a stupid hope.
The staff will take a week or so to shake out. Some of them will take promotions and raises to stay at South Dakota State. If they don’t that would be a bad sign.
Making the guy earn his way out of sixth place of the 7 future PAC-12 schools tells me that the “deserved extension” will be unlikely to impress anyone.
Thats an overpay and big bet by UNLV. They have no money and are banking on windfalls, despite already needing that money to pay off debts. I like the aggressiveness but it’s a coin flip to sign a death warrant. I’m not even positive they’re staying in the Mtn West. Their AD is going Bill Moos on it. I’d be a bit more excited for Mullens than I would Rogers, but not much. The assistant pool is enviable. It’d be the equivalent of us taking in Harsin or something. I like the aggressiveness a lot though. And while we’ll be on watch with success for him leaving, UNLV will high alert.
As childish and boring as the off-topic threads on this board are, the *real* football talk is even worse.
If the head coach is at 6/7, likely the assistants, recruiting budget, support staff budget, etc. are going to be in the 6/7 too.
The biggest disappointment is McCoy and/or Schulz just aren’t committed to investing in the football product at the p4 level. Schulz said we would. I truly hope Rogers is a home run hire, but where’s the mysterious money that the regents committed going too? That’s my biggest concern.
