Five potential coaching candidates to replace Jimmy Rogers at WSU

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Dec. 6—PULLMAN — Less than a calendar year later, Washington State is in the same place.

Coach Jimmy Rogers accepted the same job at Iowa State on Friday evening, becoming the second straight Cougar coach to leave the program before an upcoming bowl game. In his one and only season at WSU, Rogers went 6-6, which catapulted him to the helm of the Cyclones' program.

That leaves the Cougs with all sorts of problems — which players will follow Rogers, which coaches will do the same, and how will they fill those gaps? — but this above all.

Who will coach WSU next?

With that in mind, here are five potential candidates to replace Rogers. Keep in mind: Without a full-time athletic director in place, the WSU brass leading the charge on this hire will likely be president Elizabeth Cantwell and interim AD Jon Haarlow.

Some fans will clamor for New Mexico coach Jason Eck, who has revived the Lobos' program the same way he did at Idaho. His familiarity with the area, and his program-building savvy, would make him a tempting candidate for the Cougars. And while his UNM contract buyout is $4 million, the same amount WSU will be getting from Iowa State as part of Rogers' buyout, Eck's career trajectory has him on track to land a Power 4 job next.

Another factor to remember: Rogers was making about $1.3 million per year at WSU. Depending on who they target, the Cougs may have to pony up more than that to find their next coach.

1. Brent Vigen, Montana State

We'll start with the most realistic option. The Bobcats' head man of five years has a proven track record, with an overall record of 58-12 following Saturday's 21-13 win over Yale in the FCS playoffs — including two appearances in the national championship game. He's a winner through and through.

Plus, he knows the area and he has the right recruiting footholds. Where Rogers and former WSU coaches were trying to establish pipelines in Louisiana and Texas, Vigen and his guys might have an easier time leveraging the footprints they've already laid in areas closer to home, which might make for an easier sales pitch.

Vigen was a candidate for the Oregon State job, which went to JaMarcus Shephard. His career trajectory seems to be taking him to a place like WSU anyway.

Of course, if they were to hire Vigen, the Cougars would be running the same risk they ran with Rogers: What if he wins right away and bolts after his first year? The other factor to consider with Vigen: His Bobcats are in position to make a deep playoff run, much like they have every season. Would WSU be willing to wait for Vigen's playoff run to end, maybe as late as Jan. 5, which is the date for the FCS national championship game?

The new transfer portal window doesn't open until Jan. 2, which theoretically would protect WSU from losing players if they were to wait on Vigen. But three Cougars have already made plans to hit the portal, and more could follow.

2. Jonathan Smith, Michigan State/Oregon State

After a 4-15 effort across two years at Michigan State, Smith was fired this offseason, freeing him up to find another job. Would he be interested in a return to the Pacific Northwest?

Like Vigen, Smith knows the area, and it probably wouldn't take long for him to reestablish the recruiting territories that had served him well at Oregon State, where he coached from 2018-2023. The kicker: Smith's buyout at MSU was a reported roughly $30 million, and though he's required to seek another job as part of that agreement, it's unclear whether he'd want to do that at WSU.

3. Jesse Bobbit, WSU defensive coordinator

The man behind the country's No. 18 team in total defense is the Cougars' interim head coach. He has done more with less all season long, overcoming a barrage of injuries to build one of the country's best defenses. He's a natural leader and a great communicator. His players find it easy to rally around him.

Does that put him in position to be retained as WSU's full-time head coach? Bobbit is 31 years old, which would make him the youngest FBS head coach by about three years. He has the qualities of a head coach, but he's never been one before. Would Cantwell and Haarlow see that as a risk? Or a chance to imbue young energy into the program?

Bobbit might be willing to accept a lesser dollar amount for the gig, which could appeal to WSU brass.

4. DJ Durkin, Auburn defensive coordinator

Durkin was recently retained as Auburn's DC by new head coach Alex Golesh, which might reduce his availability for WSU. But he built one of the nation's best defenses as well, and he did it in the SEC, which says something.

Here's the problem for the Cougars: Durkin made a reported $2.5 million this year alone, which would be more than Rogers' salary as head coach this fall. Could the Cougs up their offer past that number? If so, he might be worth a call.

But any mention of Durkin comes with a bold asterisk: In May 2018, when Durkin was the head coach at Maryland, offensive lineman Jordan McNair collapsed during a workout and died from heatstroke two weeks later. In the aftermath, Durkin was accused of fostering a team environment of verbal abuse and intimidation, and after his reinstatement was met with strong blowback, he was fired.

5. Ed Orgeron/Jon Gruden

Both the former LSU head coach and current Barstool Sports personality might be long shots for WSU, and they don't feel overly realistic. But here's the rub: The Cougs need to sell tickets.

They need any kind of revenue they can get, especially as they work to get fans to Gesa Field, where attendance hasn't been the same since the traditional Pac-12 fell apart. Even once the rebuilt conference launches next year, fans won't be flocking to games against Fresno State and Texas State the way they did for contests against USC and Oregon.

Even if Orgeron or Gruden were to fail at WSU, at the very least, they could use their name recognition to generate excitement, sell tickets and foster more NIL donations. And aren't those three of the things the Cougs need most right now?

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