Washington State hires Jake Dickert: Cougars value stability in elevating interim coach to full-time role

Jake Dickert has been named Washington State’s full-time coach after serving as interim coach for the final five games of the season, the school announced Saturday. Dickert took over at the Cougars after former coach Nick Rolovich was fired on October 20 for refusing to give a prescribed COVID-19 vaccine to state employees in Washington. Dickert has agreed to a five-year deal and a formal press conference will be held next week.

“I am deeply humbled and honored to be the next head coach at Washington State University,” said Dickert. “I want to thank the Chairman [Kirk] Schulz, [athletic director] Pat Chun and [deputy athletic director] Bryan Blair for their leadership and belief in me and my vision for the future of WSU football. Pullman is a great fit for our family and we are excited to be a part of this community for a long time to come. Go Cougs. “

The Cougars went 3-2 under Dickert’s watch, which included a bold 40-13 win over rivals Washington on Friday night at the Apple Cup. Before that, Washington State beat Arizona 44-18 in the last home game of the season.

“We are delighted to have Jake Dickert take over as head coach,” Schulz said. “Coach Dickert was able to put together a team that’s been through so much over the past two seasons and inspire them to not only keep going but to fight harder. Coach Dickert loves Pullman, understands. What it means to be a Coug, and most importantly, to put his players first. He’s an asset to this show and to WSU.”

Dickert, 38, played extensively at Wisconsin-Stevens Point and spent most of his coaching career at the FCS level before joining Wyoming’s coaching staff as a safeties coach in 2017. He stayed with the Cowboys until moving to serve as defensive coordinator at Washington State in 2020.

Promoting Dickert to a full-time role is a great move for a Washington State program that, after everything it’s been through over the past two years, wants a bit of stability. Things are going on on Palouse under Dickert’s supervision, and with coaches refusing to remove the vaccine from staff, Dickert can still keep the rest of the staff in place if that’s best for the program. .

Cougars will have a midfielder Jayden de Laura returns next season after the Honolulu-born player hit 2,742 yards, 23 touchdowns and nine interceptions in 11 games. He threw for 234 yards or more in all 5 games that Dickert was head coach, including 8 touchdowns and just 3 interceptions.

They will lose tons of output defensively, as long as those expected to continue to do so, but younger people have been working in the system for two years. By promoting Dickert to full-time coach, it will be less of a challenge for young people to step into prominent roles than it is for new staff.

Washington State owns state bragging rights for what Dickert did to confront Washington on Friday night in Seattle. Why mess with success? If Dickert and the stability he brings mean more dominance for the Huskies – who will undergo a training change of their own – that’s a huge step forward to continuously competing for the title. Pac-12 North title.