Jimmy Rogers announced he was leaving WSU last Friday for Iowa State. Off of name value, the move made no sense. Rogers led the Cougs to an underachieving 6-6, barely becoming bowl eligible.
Rogers was brought to WSU due to his Football Championship Series success with the South Dakota Jackrabbits, where running the football was a staple in the offense. For Coug fans, a run-first offense was something not seen since before the Mike Leach era.
Rogers had a boring offensive gameplan that was inconsistent. If not for Zevi Eckhaus and the receivers, the Cougs could have very well been 3-9.
Rogers raved about his loyalty in his opening press conference with WSU but he was far from loyal. The first chance he got he left for Iowa State without knowing what his salary was going to be, Rogers called Iowa State his “dream” job.
Fans have expressed dismay over Rogers leaving but they should be ecstatic. Rogers helped the Cougs be very competitive in three ranked games against Ole Miss, Virginia and JMU. However, the three losses should have been wins, but his time management and bad coaching down the stretch is why they lost.
Hopefully an Air-Raid offense or West Coast zone run with play action gameplan will come to the Palouse. To be blunt, WSU is not going to land four- or five-star athletes but when running an air-raid or west coast offense, the need for top players is minimized. Players are elevated with the plug-in offense—no matter who is in it, it functions the same way.
When Rogers became head coach at Wazzu, he brought a ton of Division II-level athletes. Assuming most leave with Rogers, hopefully, starting next season, it will be a completely fresh start for the Cougars with the new Pac-12 and a head coach.
Rogers had a boring offense and never really embraced what Cougars are. He could not motivate people to come to WSU football games or donate. Even when Cougar Athletics would script a video for promotion his acting was never motivating or made someone want to come to a game. With the current state of NIL and college football, WSU needs a fundraiser and energetic coach who brings in the media. Names like Jon Gruden, Rick Neuheisel and his son Jerry and Jason Eck do just that.
Rogers leaving is not ideal but it should make WSU fans excited for the future. If President Betsy Cantwell can find a way to nail the head coach hire, the Palouse may be on the up and up.
Jim • Dec 10, 2025 at 2:01 pm
This article tries to sugarcoat the exit. Sorry, but this is a bad omen. What was already a difficult job in keeping head coaches, recruiting players, has become near impossible now in Pullman. Retaining players is so difficult, no coach would want to stay in Pullman, the job is far too difficult. Rogers leaving wasn’t a blessing in disguise, it’s the sad reality of WSU in this new era of college football.
Lawrence Anderson • Dec 10, 2025 at 12:20 pm
Goodbye and good riddance. What is needed is someone loyal and competent. And a coach that will stay with the team through the bowl season!
Dr. Gary Minetti • Dec 10, 2025 at 10:51 am
Neuheisel would certainly put butts in the seats. His son, Jerry, is a very good coach and recruiter. Also, hire Luke Falk as the new QB coach. Neuheisel is only 5 years older than Bronco Mendenhall. President Betsy hired Bronco and he is doing very good. Neuheisel is much more contemporary than president Betsy.
If the new coach fails to bring the necessary excitement and electricity needed for WSU football, then, maybe the school needs to consider joing the Big Sky. Go, Cougs!!!!
William Howard Plucker • Dec 10, 2025 at 9:28 am
“boring” is hard to quantify. Rogers would have won a lot of games in Pullman. Life goes on, but it would have been nice to have here a while. Your comments are baseless and way off the mark.
Abe • Dec 11, 2025 at 9:37 am
Play was lackluster, Vandals game was boring. Zevi should have been Qb1 from the start. He would have won a lot of games but no meaningful games aside from pac-12 games.