“I promise you, I’ll get the whole staff, I’ll learn the fight song and the hand motions.”

The first words from the 35th head coach for Washington State football, Jimmy Rogers, who was excited and emotional in thanking his family and WSU athletic director Anne McCoy for the opportunity to lead this program in his introductory press conference Jan. 9.

Rogers comes from South Dakota State, where he won FCS national championships in 2022 as defensive coordinator and 2023 as head coach, now looks to lead the Cougars to new heights.

“I do believe home is where your heart is at, and my heart was at South Dakota State for 19 years,” Rogers said. “I worked extremely hard to be a part of a build and to build a championship program.”

Rogers comes to Washington State off of another successful year with the Jackrabbits, finishing 12-3 and going all the way to the FCS semifinals after going 15-0 in his first season as head coach there.

Rogers made the decision to come to the Palouse with aid from the voices of Pullman passionately preaching the tight-knit community of the university and the entire city supporting one another through thick and thin.

“I’m about people, I’m about as loyal as it gets, and I know that word has been thrown around here and people don’t want to hear it,” Rogers said. “But I don’t know if you can show that after 19 years in one place, build a national championship program day after day, so I do plan to do that here.”

Rogers knows he and the Cougars will get looked at funny, with talk of building a national championship contender, but Rogers didn't leave a successful program to not strive for great heights here.

“And some of you from the outside world, I’ll catch grief, but I don’t care,” Rogers said. “I’ve been a winner, I’ve been a part of a winner my whole life, and I don’t plan on stopping now.”

Rogers addressed the recruiting battle as well, talking about how he expects his staff to win recruiting not only in the state of Washington but also in the neighboring states.

“Expect a program that takes pride in recruiting and knowing the power of recruiting its own state and the bordering states,” Rogers said. “Also expect a coaching staff that had Midwest ties that can go out and get the best players in the Midwest and bring them back to what is the Midwest-West Coast in Pullman, Washington.”

Rogers reiterated that this is a new chapter in Washington State University football, for the entire community of Pullman, and there are bigger and brighter aspirations for the football program for the future.

In terms of schemes, Rogers stressed that the team will be physical in all three phases of the football, with special teams, the defense he brings from his experience at South Dakota State, and a hard-nosed offense that emphasizes running the football. It will be a different look for the Cougars offense, not prioritizing the pass on early downs. Defensively, whether it is a 4-2-5, a 4-3-4, or disguise blitzes, Rogers ensured the Cougars will be as physical throughout the entirety of the game as the offense and special teams.

Rogers brings most of his staff from South Dakota State as his play-callers on offense and defense, along with position coaches as well. Rogers has also brought in 20 players via the transfer portal, with a majority of them coming from South Dakota State.

"I love the staff we have put together and can't wait to get started," Rogers said. "This is a tremendous collection of coaches who will immerse themselves into the lives of our players and do whatever it takes to maximize their potential, on and off the field. Working with many of these coaches previously, I know the commitment they have to their profession and feel we could not have put together a better staff to positively impact the current and future players in our program."

Here's a look at his first Washington State coaching staff (with one coach still to be hired/named):

Defense:

Jesse Bobbit (defensive coordinator/linebackers): Spent the last four years at South Dakota State, including the last two as defensive coordinator. Coached previously at Washington State from 2020-21.

Michael Banks (cornerbacks): Coached the last two years at South Dakota State after five seasons at Illinois State.

Pete Menage (safeties): Coached under Rogers at South Dakota State the last two years. Also coached at Winona State and Northern Illinois.

Payton Shafer (defensive graduate assistant)

Offense:

Danny Freund (offensive coordinator/quarterbacks): Spent the 2024 season on Rogers' staff at South Dakota State as co-offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach, leading an offense in that featured five FCS All-Americans. Spent prior 12 seasons at his alma mater, North Dakota, where he was part of five FCS playoff appearances.

Taylor Lucas (offensive line): Spent 2024 season as assistant offensive line coach at South Dakota State, where he mentored a pair of All-Americans in center Gus Miller and guard Evan Beerntsen. Also coached at Wyoming, Carroll University, Sant Anselm College, and two stints at his alma mater, Wisconsin-Stevens Point.

Robbie Rouse (running backs): Spent the previous two seasons at South Dakota State. In 2023, mentored consensus All-American Isaiah Davis, who led FCS in rushing yards, touchdown and total touchdowns. Also coached at Cal Poly, College of St. Scholastica, Augustana (S.D.) and North Dakota.

Chris Meyers (tight ends): Spent the past three seasons at South Dakota State, coaching All-Americans Tucker Kraft and Zach Heins. Also coached at Oklahoma State and Stephen F. Austin.

Jake Menage (wide receivers): Spent the previous two seasons at South Dakota State. Also coached at Northwestern College, Northern Illinois and Southwest Minnesota State.

Kyle Saddler (offensive graduate assistant)

Owen Baebler (offensive graduate assistant).

Special teams:

Pat Cashmore (special teams coordinator/assistant tight ends): Spent the previous two seasons on Rogers' staff at South Dakota State. He also has coached at Pittsburg State, Toledo, Oklahoma State, Midland University and Iowa Western CC.

Ron Pavlik (assistant special teams)

Justin Mesa (assistant quarterbacks/special teams)