Iowa State names Jimmy Rogers as Cyclones' new football coach

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Penn State needed 54 days before hiring Matt Campbell as its next football coach. Iowa State didn’t even need 54 minutes to complete its coaching search.

Washington State coach Jimmy Rogers is set to become the Cyclones’ new head coach, the school announced that he agreed to a six-year contract on Friday, Dec. 5.

“Jimmy Rogers is a rising star in college athletics who has very strong ties to the Midwest both as a player and as a coach,” ISU athletics director Jamie Pollard said in a news release. “He has been on my shortlist ever since the first time I met him. He immediately impressed me with his interest in Iowa State University and told me during our first visit several years ago that he wanted to be the next coach at Iowa State.

“Since our initial meeting, I ahve stayed in close contact with him and have been very impressed with his work ethic and understanding of what it takes to be successful at Iowa State.”

Rogers went 6-6 with the Cougars in his first season coaching at an FBS school.

Before that, he had plenty of success at the FCS level. A former linebacker at South Dakota State, the 38-year old Rogers spent more than a decade rising up the ranks as a coach at his alma mater.

He started as a graduate assistant after his playing days were over, left for a season with Florida Atlantic, then returned to South Dakota State as the linebackers coach. He worked his way up to defensive coordinator and served in that role for the Jackrabbits’ first FCS national championship in 2022. He was also named the FCS coordinator of the year during that title run.

The following year, he took over as South Dakota State’s head coach in the wake of John Stiegelmeier’s retirement. South Dakota State went 15-0 and repeated as national champion under Rogers in 2023. They went 12-3 in 2024 and returned to the FCS final four.

Through his three years as a head coach, Rogers has a combined 33-9 record.

Rogers takes over for Campbell, who went 72-55 in his 10 seasons as the Cyclones’ coach. Campbell was a three-time Big 12 coach of the year award winner and Iowa State’s all-time wins leader.

Eugene Rapay covers Iowa State athletics for the Des Moines Register. Contact Eugene at erapay@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @erapay5.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Iowa State names Jimmy Rogers as Cyclones’ new football coach

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